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FanDuel continues its strong start in Washington D.C.
The sports betting titan has given sports betting a boost in the nation’s capital, but other sportsbooks are entering the market.
Sports betting has been legal in Washington D.C. since May 2020. However, most of that time could be viewed as a significant challenge. Until this past April, the nation’s capital accepted sports bets through “GamBetDC,” which was contracted as the state’s lone operator. The operator continuously failed to meet expectations and proved to be glitchy.
After showing extreme patience for many years, D.C. officials finally pulled the plug on GamBet and entered a contract with FanDuel Sportsbook to be the city’s operator for sports betting. With June numbers now released, that move has proven to be a lucrative one.
FanDuel takes advantage of lone operator status
In three months between April and June 2024, FanDuel accepted $68.5 million in betting handle in the nation’s capital. GamBetDC accepted just $66.4 million for the entire 2023 calendar year.
Not only did FanDuel beat an entire year’s worth of betting handle in just three months, it did so without the benefit of having the football season. Sports betting handles are highest during months in which football is played, which only highlights the potential of the D.C. market with the correct infrastructure in place.
In its first three months in Washington D.C., FanDuel generated $11.3 million in sports betting revenue. In comparison, GamBetDC generated just $9.5 million in revenue over its last 18 months of operations.
As a result, FanDuel paid $4.5 million in taxes to the district over the last three months. This is more than GamBetDC paid in taxes for the entire 2022 and 2023 calendar years combined. Not only are bettors more willing to use FanDuel as compared to prior options available to them, but the local government is benefiting greatly as well.
Overall, more than 87% of sports betting revenue in the second quarter in Washington D.C. came courtesy of FanDuel. While FanDuel has experienced great success, these numbers are likely to look very different in future quarters.
D.C. sports betting has expanded
A lot has changed in our nation’s capital when it comes to the online sports betting landscape over the last few months. As mentioned, the district ditched the city-run operator for FanDuel in hopes of attracting interest in sports betting. FanDuel operated as the lone option in D.C. from April through June.
In July, Washington D.C. announced it was expanding sports betting and allowing more operators into the state. Previously, Caesars and BetMGM were only allowed to operate their sportsbooks within a two block radius of their physical locations at Capital One Arena and Nationals Park, respectively.
However, the Sports Wagering Amendment Act allowed those operators to now accept bets throughout the entire district. In addition, it added seven more licenses available to operators willing to partner with the local professional sports teams.
As a result, Caesars and BetMGM get to expand their footprint in the D.C. area. DraftKings has announced its launch in the nation’s capital as well, after it partnered with the MLS’ D.C. United. More sportsbooks are expected to launch in the district in the coming months.
FanDuel was able to enjoy a quarter of the year as a lone operator in D.C., giving it a head start on the competition. While it did a tremendous job boosting interest in sports betting in D.C., it now has more competition to deal with in the coming months.