BetMGM and Caesars Ready to Launch in D.C.

BetMGM and Caesars are ready to expand their operations in the District of Columbia, ending FanDuel’s brief monopoly on mobile sports betting. On Monday at noon Eastern, BetMGM will throw a party at Nationals Park and be open for business in D.C with their betting app.  Caesars is also set to launch in D.C. on Monday.

Within two blocks of each of the two companies’ physical sportsbooks, mobile betting is already available. Caesars offers a sportsbook at Capital One Arena, and BetMGM has one at Nationals Park. Because they have already overcome regulatory obstacles with the D.C. Lottery, they have an advantage over other possible operators in the area.

Check out the latest sports betting odds available at BetMGM.

FanDuel, which had previously obtained access to the market through a retail sportsbook deal with the D.C. United soccer team’s Audi Field, has been providing online and mobile wagering in D.C. for less than three months. FanDuel took over from GambetDC as the subcontractor for Intralot in April.

The legislation that D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie pushed through and had included in the D.C. budget is what is causing the district’s market to open on Monday. Now, other sportsbooks might try to follow Caesars and BetMGM. Earlier in the year, a number of sportsbooks, including Fanatics Sportsbook and DraftKings, advocated for the availability of online sports betting.

FanDuel President Christian Genetski stated in a letter to council members last month, when the company was considering a possible market expansion, that if its competitors were permitted entry, FanDuel would seek to end its Intralot arrangement and apply for a Class A operator license.

Four Class A operator licenses are allowed, according to the D.C. Lottery website, one for each of the following venues: Capital One Arena, Audi Field, Nationals Park and Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports Arena. The only location without a sports betting partner at this time is Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports Arena. Additionally, D.C. businesses that wish to provide wagering within their physical location but do not operate for the purpose of sports betting may apply for an unlimited number of Class B licenses.

D.C. sports teams that play 90% of their home games in the district will be able to collaborate with a single sportsbook operator for online gambling thanks to a new kind of license known as Class C. This suggests that even if Nationals Park is affiliated with BetMGM, the Nationals may collaborate with another operator. Prospective new operators would have to fulfill regulatory requirements and receive lottery approval.

FanDuel is obviously not pleased that their monopoly will be ending and they have threatened to leave the D.C. market altogether. FanDuel President Christian Genetski wrote this to city council members last month. “Should Subtitle R be enacted, FanDuel will transition its operations in the District under its Class A license under the new regime consistent with its pre-existing contractual relationship, and invoke its termination right under the subcontract.” FanDuel has their branding on more than 60 sports kiosks in the district so their slice of the pie will likely go down now that they face competition.Check out the latest sports betting odds available at BetMGM.