Washington D.C. is one of those that has legalised sports betting but does not have its sports betting industry up and running. The problem with the rollout is due to the fact that it has been delayed by several issues.
One of the main issues was the Intralot contract for the district’s mobile sports betting app which gives the company a monopoly on the entire operation for Washington D.C. It slowed things down but it finally appears the District of Columbia Office of Lottery and Gaming (OLG) has decided to move forward. OLG have formally announced that they will be open to sports betting license applications from December 3.
The licenses to be awarded are available at several levels of operation, with limits placed on the higher levels. The Class A Operator license is the most valuable and there will be only four of them. They are reserved for the major pro sporting venues in the area, provided they are interested.
These licenses will be on offer to Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports Arena, Audi Field, Capital One Arena, and Nationals Park. Three of those locations are the home bases of the District’s pro sports teams like the Washington Wizards, D.C. United, and the current baseball World Series Champions, the Nationals.
Class B licenses have no limit though and are available to any establishment in the city. With a license, an operator can provide sports betting within the facility as long as it is not within two blocks of any Class A operation. This means that bars and other social locations will be able to offer sports bets if they had a license. To apply for the license, applicants need to submit their application along with paying a non-refundable application fee of $100,000.
Applicants will undergo a thorough vetting process to see whether they are qualified to operate a sports betting license. The OLG will require applicants to submit quite a bit of information and documents to prove their ability to operate a sports betting operation.
The OLG will also carry out a detailed background check. This starts from looking at the applicant’s history in other jurisdictions as well as their legal standing. This is why the OLG recommends that applicants first ask about the detailed requirements from its OLG Regulation and Oversight Department so that they are fully prepared when applying.
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