D.C. Online Sports Betting on Hold, Ahead of 2025 Budget Approval

Online sports wagering in Washington D.C. is currently on hold, leaving local bettors temporarily with no legal mobile option. Yesterday, FanDuel, the single provider of citywide betting announced it stopped accepting online bets since Muriel Bowser, Mayor of the District of Columbia must first approve the new FY 2025 city budget.

Among other provisions, the budget would allow the continuation and expansion of sports betting in the city. In a statement, the company confirmed it would recommence sports betting operations as soon as the budget got final approval.

As reported by The Washington Post, Susana Castillo, Communications Director for the Mayor’s office, confirmed that Bowser had received the budget and she must review and sign it by July 25. If not signed, it would automatically become effective. Later, the spokesperson confirmed that the mayor returned the budget to the D.C. Council without a signature or veto, which meant an automatic authorization of sports betting operations. As of Tuesday evening, the sportsbook had not resumed its operations though.

As reported by CasinoGamesPro, FanDuel became the District of Columbia’s new sports betting operator in April, replacing GambetDC, which struggled to meet budget expectations. In contrast to nearly $80 million in projected tax revenue, the mobile sports betting app generated $4.3 million since its launch in 2020. Users have been reporting uncompetitive sports betting odds and technical issues.

This June, the city’s sports betting landscape was expanded with up to seven sportsbooks that would be authorized to offer their mobile betting apps and create a competitive market. Following this modification, FanDuel said it would terminate its agreement with Intralot. As per the contract terms, the sportsbook had exclusive rights over citywide mobile sports betting, in return for 40% of its gaming revenue. Under the new framework, it would be supposed to pay only 20% of its gaming revenue.

BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook Are Affected by Delayed Budget Too

Meanwhile, due to the unresolved budget approval issues, two other sportsbooks, BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook face delays in their planned Washington D.C. launch. Both companies provided online betting services only within proximity to their land-based locations.

According to the planned schedule, the BetMGM app was due to go live across the whole city on Monday. However, instead of providing citywide online betting, the operator continued to accept wagers only “within proximity to Nationals Park”, where its retail operation is located. Furthermore, a BetMGM representative said the company canceled a planned celebration event at Nationals Park, promoting the company’s expansion of sports betting offerings in Washington D.C.

Similarly, Caesars Sportsbook was supposed to launch its citywide online operations on Monday. However, the company confirmed that bettors could place wagers only near Capital One Arena, the location of its land-based sportsbook.

At present, there is no clarity on when the FanDuel app will become operative again or when BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook will launch their citywide mobile apps. Kenyan R. McDuffie, a D.C. Council member, confirmed in a statement that the Mayor was reviewing the budget, with expectations to resolve the situation soon.