Update: On February 5, the D.C. Council voted 7 to 6 to approve a bill to award a sole-source contract to INTRALOT to run the new sports lottery program. INTRALOT is the DC Lottery’s systems vendor. The second vote is scheduled for February 19. If it passes, it will go to the Mayor for approval and then transmitted to Congress for review.
In December, the D.C. Council passed “The Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act of 2018.”
“The Mayor signed the bill on January 23, 2019,” said DC Lottery Executive Director Beth Bresnahan. “It will now be transmitted to Congress for review. This step could take as many as 60 legislative days for approval.”
Bresnahan said the DC Lottery is currently working to develop the necessary regulatory and operational framework to responsibly and effectively implement sports wagering in the District.
“The goal is to complete regulations and accept applications in July, with the intent of issuing licenses by September of this year,” she explained. “However, to fully implement both our regulatory and operational responsibilities as the bill designates, the Lottery must first acquire the technology, equipment and platforms necessary to launch sports wagering on mobile devices and at retailer locations. We are hopeful that the licensing of private operators and lottery-operated retailers, along with the launch of the mobile app can run on near-parallel tracks.”
The DC Lottery will act as both regulator and operator of sports betting. “There are a few U.S. lotteries that regulation and operation of sports wagering fall under their purview (both Delaware and Rhode Island lotteries are the regulators in their respective jurisdictions and operate via the casinos under their oversight); the distinction in D.C. is that the Lottery will be regulating private operators and operating its own single-game sports wagering through digital platforms and a retail network. Delaware offers parlay wagering at select lottery retailer locations, and New Mexico also plans to soon launch a parlay sports lottery offering,” said Bresnahan.