There is an urgent need to truly comprehend the unfortunate scenario linked with the sports wagering space in DC over the past couple of years. Fingers are pointing towards Intralot, a vendor that has yet to be a success story. The company has requested the Office of Lottery and Gaming (OLG) to hand over the reins of its sports wagering business to FanDuel. Every expert in the field thinks that the market needs to be more competitive for the sector to survive.
According to the Co-Founder of Acicies Investments, Chris Grove, four certified online wagering states have a similar one-operator system. Out of this, Hampshire has a system for accepting more than one bid. Competitive markets ensure further income generation for the state, along with more enriching facilities for the players and a better range of pricing for them. Caesars Sportsbook and DraftKings have an active role to play in these areas. The states gain by pulling in more taxes.
In the case of GambitDC, it has its own set of problems, which percolate down to the players who feel they are up against limited options. It also needs more territory on which to run its operations. It has a great negative impact on its business.
Considering that GambitDC is the sole online sportsbook operator in the whole city, Caesars managed to stay ahead in terms of overall rankings. There is also the aspect of the operator falling behind the other sole operator states in the US.
With the DC Council consenting to grant Intralot the furthering of its contract and bring about a sole operator scenario in 2019, New Jersey introduced mobile wagering.
At the time GambetDC made its entry in 2020, there were nine more active markets having online sports wagering. Six of them came under the competitive market scenario, with three sole operator ones. In the case of Intralot, the decision went in favor of it for the purpose of making a swift entry within the online sports wagering space. As per the observers and experts, opening the market to more entrants would extend the introduction of sports wagering, a fact the authorities were not willing to settle for. That was when the death knell was struck for DC. It is now time for the concerned authorities to look at the lapses and rectify them seriously.
