The OLG refrained from further statements regarding when this will be implemented as the situation is under consideration, with the formalities being discussed.
According to the Executive Director of OLG, Frank Suarez, FanDuel is expected to optimize the District’s tax revenue collection, keeping its track record in mind.
GambetDC was the brainchild of Intralot, which also operates D.C.’s lottery system. It was established in 2020, and ever since, it has begun receiving negative feedback from all fronts. Besides this, D.C. Council member Kenyan R. McDuffe commented that the operator had given only $4.3 million towards the city, compared to the expected figure of $84 million. The last straw was losing money.
FanDuel committed to a collection of $45 million in revenue for the city over five years. The breakup the company mentioned was $5 million in the initial year as a one-time platform conversion fee and then $10 million every year. The company will be pumping in $2 million to $4 million on expenses incurred for various purposes.
According to the betting news, In January, Suarez informed the D.C. Council that he contacted Intralot to identify an alternate private operator for developing the city’s only sports wagering platform. Incidentally, Intralot was granted a five-year deal and an offer of $215 million to run the show. The obvious choice was FanDuel, which had an above-average track record, with its presence in 22 states.
For the gamers in D.C., the only option they had was GambetDC. The other alternative was to vent into the three physical sportsbooks close to the three stadiums where the applications were functional. GambetDC was also known to run its business via retail kiosks, now to be replaced by machine-operated ones by FanDuel. Subcontracting was the formula for success, as per an OLG spokesperson. There would be no requirement for rebidding and opening the field to more players, which would upset the business of retailers accustomed to running GambetDC kiosks.
