• About Us / Contact
  • Responsible Gambling
This site contains commercial content
SportsHandle
  • US Sports Betting
    • Arizona
    • Arkansas
    • Colorado
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Louisiana
    • Maine
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Mississippi
    • New Jersey
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • Ohio
    • Oregon
    • Pennsylvania
    • Tennessee
    • Virginia
    • West Virginia
    • Wyoming
  • Pending States
    • California
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Missouri
    • North Carolina
  • Canada
    • Ontario
    • British Columbia
    • Alberta
  • Sportsbook Apps
    • FanDuel
    • BetMGM
    • Caesars
    • PointsBet
    • BetRivers
  • Tools
    • Sportsbook Bonuses Explained
    • Sports Betting Revenue Tracker
    • Sports Betting Podcasts
    • Partnership Tracker
    • Expected Value
    • Sports Scores And Odds Apps
    • Sports Betting Twitter
  • News
No Result
View All Result
SportsHandle
  • US Sports Betting
    • Arizona
    • Arkansas
    • Colorado
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Louisiana
    • Maine
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Mississippi
    • New Jersey
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • Ohio
    • Oregon
    • Pennsylvania
    • Tennessee
    • Virginia
    • West Virginia
    • Wyoming
  • Pending States
    • California
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Missouri
    • North Carolina
  • Canada
    • Ontario
    • British Columbia
    • Alberta
  • Sportsbook Apps
    • FanDuel
    • BetMGM
    • Caesars
    • PointsBet
    • BetRivers
  • Tools
    • Sportsbook Bonuses Explained
    • Sports Betting Revenue Tracker
    • Sports Betting Podcasts
    • Partnership Tracker
    • Expected Value
    • Sports Scores And Odds Apps
    • Sports Betting Twitter
  • News
No Result
View All Result
SportsHandle
No Result
View All Result

D.C. Council Approves Controversial Mobile Sports Betting Contract With Intralot

Council approves $215 million contract following fiery debate on sole-sourcing mobile sports wagering

Matt Rybaltowski by Matt Rybaltowski
July 9, 2019
in Regulation
(Shutterstock)

(Shutterstock)

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A resolution passed in the D.C. Council on Tuesday evening that sole-sourced the district’s mobile sports betting contract to Intralot, despite strenuous objection from several members regarding ethical concerns surrounding the Greek gaming company’s relationship with an embattled council member.

The measure narrowly passed by a 7-5 vote, with one absence. And the final vote was cast by Jack Evans, a longtime council member, currently under multiple investigations for his private business dealings, including interactions with Intralot. Evans voted for the resolution, along with council members Vincent Gray, Kenyan McDuffie, Brandon Todd, Anita Bonds, Robert White and Phil Mendelson, the council’s chairman.

Gray, a Ward 7 Democrat, ostensibly held the swing vote. Earlier in Tuesday’s session, Gray’s bill that would have directed some future sports betting revenues to funding for violence prevention failed by a 7-5 margin.

Prior to the vote, the council stripped Evans of his position as chairman of Committee on Finance and Revenue and launched an inquiry into Evans’ business activities. The developments came several days after a report from the Washington Post detailed Evans’ relationship with William Jarvis, an Intralot lobbyist.

Jarvis, according to the report, provided Evans with legal services for his consulting firm, NSE Consultants. Jarvis only helped NSE register as a business and did not receive compensation for serving as a registered agent, Evans said.

Via ⁦@stevesthompson⁩, emails show Jarvis was more involved with Evans’s consulting firm than previously known https://t.co/4b2GECKmK5

— Debbi Wilgoren (@DebbiWilgoren) July 7, 2019

 

Contentious debate

Amid the probe, several members reconsidered their vote in recent days. Under the measure, the Council approved a five-year, $215 mm contract that designates Intralot as the exclusive mobile sports betting vendor of the district. Intralot also serves as the operator of the D.C. Lottery.

Council members David Grosso, Elissa Silverman, Brianne Nadeau, Mary Cheh and Charles Allen voted against the resolution.

“The events of the last several weeks have called into question Mr. Evans’ honesty and truthfulness with every member of this body,” Grosso said during the hearing.

Both Grosso and Silverman cited Intralot’s recent financial difficulties as another factor for voting against the measure. Over the last 12 months, the company has seen its credit rating downgraded by three major agencies. Most recently, Fitch Ratings lowered Intralot’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating in May on heightened liquidity and refinancing risks, along with negative cash flow apprehension.

Instead of sole-sourcing the contract, Cheh urged her colleagues to develop a structure that would award multiple licenses for mobile sports betting. Initially, the District looked to move quickly to sign a deal to capitalize on a first-mover advantage over Virginia and Maryland. Those worries dissipated after both states failed to legalize sports betting this year, Allen said. Grosso concurred.

“I do not understand why we all think we have to rush to judgment right now,” Grosso said. “This is a bad deal for the District of Columbia.”

White, meanwhile, argued that small businesses throughout the district could suffer if the contract was disapproved. Silverman countered that four professional sports franchises in the city will benefit from a provision that grants the teams sports betting exclusivity in the areas surrounding the venues. She pointed to an exclusive rights agreement given to the operators of Nationals Park, Capital One Arena and Audi Field that prohibits certain bars and restaurants two blocks around the facilities from launching sports betting operations.

Controversy surrounding no-bid process

In February, the Council voted to approve legislation that essentially could provide Intralot with a virtual monopoly on mobile sports betting in the District. The legislation, Bill 23-25, passed despite strong resistance from three Council members which expressed serious misgivings on awarding the contract to the Greek gaming company without a competitive bidding process.

The no-bid process received heavy criticism from Grosso, an At-Large Council Member, who voiced ethical concerns related to Intralot’s financial contributions to various Council member campaign funds. Grosso received backing from Silverman (I-At Large) who felt that the city could receive a more favorable deal by floating an RFP and decoupling the sports betting contract from the overall lottery one.

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser signed the legislation in January, several days before a key Council hearing on the subject.

Opposition to contract from leagues, rival vendors

Numerous professional sports leagues, including Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association, as well as the PGA Tour, implored the Council to avoid a β€œstate-run monopoly,” by opening up the bidding process. Two industry lobbyists, Christian Genetski, chief legal officer at FanDuel Group and Griffin Finan, vice president of government affairs at DraftKings also penned an editorial on Monday in the Washington Post, expressing their discontent with the Council’s plans to sole-source the contract to Intralot.

“A sole operator will have no reason to create a compelling consumer experience or invest in innovation. This will undoubtedly result in consumers going elsewhere —Β whether to legitimate sports betting operators in other states or to illegal offshore sportsbooks, which offer no consumer protections and will steal revenue from the District,” they wrote.

Sports betting isn’t a game. D.C. shouldn’t grant a monopoly, writes Christian Genetski of @FanDuel and Griffin Finan of @DraftKings https://t.co/rcgxBJ9U3e

— Washington Post Opinions (@PostOpinions) July 9, 2019

It is immediately unclear if mobile sports betting will launch in the District in time for the start of the football season.

Silverman has larger concerns.

“We need to restore the public’s trust. With an approval of this contract we continue to erode it,” she said.

ShareTweetShare
Matt Rybaltowski

Matt Rybaltowski

Matt is a veteran writer with a specific focus on the emerging sports gambling market. During Matt's two decade career in journalism, he has written for the New York Times, Forbes, The Guardian, Reuters and CBSSports.com among others. In his spare time, Matt is an avid reader, a weekend tennis player and a frequent embarrassment to the sport of running. Contact Matt at [email protected]

Related Posts

draftkings-app-on-phone
Industry

D.C. Can Learn From Oregon’s Betting Model

July 28, 2022
washington-dc-skyline-view
Industry

D.C. Council Members In Discussion Bash GambetDC’s Performance Thus Far

July 13, 2022
Load More

Top Stories

taylor mathis

Taylor Mathis Got Sacrificed At The Altar Of Responsible Gambling

March 20, 2023
fanduel baseball wall

Premade Same Game Parlays Are Sucker Bets

March 13, 2023
maginfier-over-small-print

Read The Fine Print: A Proposed Federal Rule Could Change Everything For Indian Gaming

March 6, 2023
roman reigns wwe

Colorado Denies Report Stating That It’s Considering WWE Wagering

March 8, 2023

State Sports Betting Guides

Ohio (U.S. state) flag waving against clear blue sky, close up, isolated with clipping path mask alpha channel transparency, perfect for film, news, composition

Ohio Sports Betting – Where To Play, Bonus Offers And Promo Codes

by Brian Pempus
March 23, 2023

Downtown Detroit at twilight (Shutterstock)

Michigan Sports Betting – Where To Play, Online Sportsbooks, And FAQ

by Brett Smiley
March 23, 2023

VA captial

Virginia Sports Betting – Where To Play, Online Sportsbooks And Bonus Offers

by Brett Smiley
January 17, 2023

nj flag

New Jersey Sports Betting — Where To Play, Online Sportsbooks, And FAQ

by Brett Smiley
March 22, 2023

pa online sportsbooks

Pennsylvania Sports Betting – Where To Play, Online Sportsbooks And Bonuses

by Brett Smiley
October 6, 2022

Canada Sports Betting Guides

Canada Sports Betting – Best Sportsbook Apps & Bonus Offers

British Columbia Sports Betting – Legal Update, Available Sportsbooks, and FAQ

Ontario Sports Betting – Legal Status And Where To Play

SportsHandle

  • Analysis
  • Casino
  • Features
  • Horse Racing
  • Industry
  • Legal
  • Legislation
  • Opinion
  • Podcasts
  • Poker
  • Politics
  • Promotions
  • Regulation
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized

Better Collective

This website is owned and operated by Better Collective USA. Trademarks and copyrights referenced on this website are and shall remain the exclusive property of their respective owners and/or licensors. Please be sure to visit the operator’s website(s) to review their terms & conditions. We advise you to read these carefully as they contain important information. Copyright Β© 2023 USBets.com | Better Collective USA
21 Play Responsibly
Gamble Aware West Virginia
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
GameSense

Search Sports Handle

No Result
View All Result
  • About Us / Contact
  • Responsible Gambling

No Result
View All Result
  • US Sports Betting
    • Arizona
    • Arkansas
    • Colorado
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Louisiana
    • Maine
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Mississippi
    • New Jersey
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • Ohio
    • Oregon
    • Pennsylvania
    • Tennessee
    • Virginia
    • West Virginia
    • Wyoming
  • Pending States
    • California
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Missouri
    • North Carolina
  • Canada
    • Ontario
    • British Columbia
    • Alberta
  • Sportsbook Apps
    • FanDuel
    • BetMGM
    • Caesars
    • PointsBet
    • BetRivers
  • Tools
    • Sportsbook Bonuses Explained
    • Sports Betting Revenue Tracker
    • Sports Betting Podcasts
    • Partnership Tracker
    • Expected Value
    • Sports Scores And Odds Apps
    • Sports Betting Twitter
  • News

loading

Please wait while you are redirected to the right page...