DC Lottery reported a total sports betting handle just shy of $12 million for February, the second consecutive month wagering has been down by a double-digit percentage compared to the previous year.

Handle was down 18.2% compared to the $14.6 million worth of accepted wagers in February 2023 and 24.9% lower from the $16 million handle to start 2024. The $27.9 million wagered for the first two months of the year is $6.8 million less than the same span in 2023, a decline of 19.6%.

The slow start comes as both DC Lottery and the D.C. City Council debate ways to jump-start activity. The district’s gaming agency wants to make FanDuel its primary sports betting app, but council member Kenyan McDuffie has proposed an overhaul of the current system that would include mobile access for BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook as well as FanDuel.

Despite the downturn in handle, operators combined for $1.2 million in adjusted gross revenue and fashioned a collective hold of 10.2% for February. It was the seventh time in eight months the four Group A and two Group B licensees combined for a double-digit hold, which has helped year-to-date revenue increase 17.3% versus the first two months of 2023.

Though DC Lottery is often an easy scapegoat for the lack of traction for sports betting in the nation’s capital, largely due to consumer dissatisfaction with Intralot as its betting platform and GambetDC app, it does not deserve every sling and arrow fired its way.

DC Lottery has accounted for more than 60% of the tickets written and 44% of the handle in both January and February, and its 14.4% year-to-date dip in handle to $12.5 million is less steep than the overall decline.

Caesars, which has a retail presence at Capital One Arena — home to an 11-win Washington Wizards team and a Capitals squad scrapping to make the postseason, has totaled just $7.7 million worth of wagers the first two months. Its $3.3 million handle for February was its lowest since last August.

Caesars has seen a decline of 11.7% in tickets written and a 35.6% drop in handle, with the average wager amount $64.22 in January and February compared to $79 for all of 2023.

In contrast, BetMGM — operating out of Nationals Park where the Washington Nationals play — has seen handle increase 20.6% the first two months to $5.9 million. More importantly, it has generated $756,100 in revenue compared to paying out $91,000 above handle to winning bettors in the opening two months of 2023.

That $847,000 swing to the positive is the primary reason the district’s overall year-to-date revenue numbers are higher versus 2023.

March figures to have some bounce to the numbers as both FanDuel and Class B licensee Grand Central DC opened venues Thursday. FanDuel will have kiosks at Sports & Social DC on U Street, an area with heavy foot traffic, while Grand Central opened its second location on H Street.

Grand Street’s first spot in Morgan Adams has been open since October 2021 and has posted an impressive 14.1% hold all-time to claim $1.8 million in winnings from $12.6 million handle. Year-to-date handle is down 17.2% but revenue is up 16.9% thanks to a 13.4% win rate on $561,400 worth of bets.