This week brought the full, merciful, inevitable overhaul of what was the most convoluted regulatory structure in U.S. sports betting -- a model that gave exclusive rights to mobile wagering in D.C. to lottery operator Intralot -- while walling the leading commercial operators off in retail operations in stadiums and arenas.
It took only one month of mobile operation by FanDuel for D.C. leaders to realize the cost of that blunder. Operating in place of Intralot beginning in April, FanDuel promptly obliterated D.C. handle records , paving the way for the district to open the door to others. Wednesday brought the launch of Caesars and BetMGM , with DraftKings hinting that it soon will follow.
There’s no telling how much revenue commercial sportsbooks in D.C. could have generated had they been able to seize the first-mover advantage of launching ahead of neighbors Virginia and Maryland, where many who work in D.C. reside.
It would have been far more than Intralot brought in.
