Legislation to get sports betting up and running in Washington DC is done and dusted – and guess what. A prominent owner of two national pro sports teams is pushing harder than anyone else to get it implemented.
He is Ted Leonsis, the billionaire businessman who owns the NHL Capitals and the NBA Wizards. He also owns franchises in the WNBA and the upstart esports industry.
Leonsis strongly believes that sports-betting is going to ‘fundamentally change’ the way sports fans follow sport.
He’s also convinced that properly licensed and policed sports wagering will benefit owners, their players and fans alike. He sees it as being far more preferable to illegal offshore betting now made possible by the internet.
It will also prevent billions of dollars leaving the US.
“Whenever you bring things into the sunlight, it’s going to be better.” SportsTechie reported him as saying last week. He was speaking at ‘The Future of Everything’ panel discussion.
Washington DC’s bid to follow New Jersey, and the nine other states that currently allow sports betting, began in December. That was when DC councilman Jack Evans presented the bill to get it legalized.
Legalized sports betting bill passed in a week
It was passed by the Council a week later and signed by Mayor Muriel Bowser in January. Shortly afterwards, an exclusive contract was awarded to Intralot, the city’s lottery vendor, to run its online services for sports betting.
Intralot are busy implementing plans to operate from land-based retail betting facilities at National Park and at Capital One Arena, home of Leonsis’ NHL Capitals and NBA Wizards.
They are also working at setting up Android and Apple betting apps to cater for online and mobile betting users. Punters will thus be able to make bets from their laptops, smart phones etc from within the Washington DC boundaries.
A number of leading software companies who specialize in sports betting are available to Intralot. At this stage, however, it is not known which is the chosen one as Intralot hurries to get its sportsbook ready for the football season.
Before implementation, the DC Council must first approve the regulations that will govern sports betting in Washington. They are then expected to be up for public comment in June, and be adopted in July.
During the past month, three new states, Iowa, Montana and Indiana all joined US sportsbook pathfinder New Jersey in launching legal sports betting.
Ten states now have legal sports betting
The trio brought the number of states that now have legalized sports betting to 10.
Prior to May 14, 2018, when the Supreme Court intervened, sports betting had been outlawed nation-wide except in Nevada and one or two other states
After the Court agreed with New Jersey that the betting ban was unconstitutional, NJ was quickly into its stride.
Within a month, sportsbooks like DraftKings, FanDuel, and SugarHouse were already taking bets. They were soon followed by BetStars and 888sports and much later by PointsBet.
Today the wagering business has become a billion dollar industry in the Garden State.
In its first year, its 14 online sportsbooks, it’s casinos and race tracks have raked in nearly $2.5 billion in bets.
Reflecting on this stunning growth, Michelle Minton, a gambling specialist, says: “Other cities and the states are recognizing this. They see that huge amount of revenues can be made from sports gambling.”
“Previously sports betting’s all been in the black market”
Minton, who specializes in gambling policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, continued. “Previously, it’s all been in the black market.
“There’s potentially hundreds and millions of dollars to make off legalizing the activity. This is by giving consumers a way to move out of the black market into the legal regulated market.”
It has also made betting a lot more convenient for US punters.
New Jersey visitor Bill Vogel recently talked about the difference while in Washington DC. He is reported to have told the Washington Times he used to have to bet with a bookie. Now-days, no matter where he is, he simply needs to pick up his smart phone to do it. “It’s just easier that way,” he said.
Meantime, Washington DC’s chief financial officer, projects that tax revenue of nearly $92m can be earned in four years. He also sees the majority of it coming from mobile betting – probably because 80% of NJ’s revenue comes this way.
Minton didn’t agree. She described the forecast as “A fantasy. It’s always really hard to project revenue. This especially is so when other states are on the verge of legalizing, as well,” she added
Four out of six states have not met projections
She may have something there. Associated Press have reported that of the six states that legalized sports betting last year, four have fallen short of their projections.
West Virginia is a good example. In its first year, it earned $1.1m in betting tax against a projection of $5.5m.
These projections, however, are of no real concern to Leonsis, a longtime supporter of sportsbetting.
After the Supreme Court’s decision last year to abolish the anti-sports-betting PASPA law, he wrote a supporting blog. It said wagering would bring fans “closer to the game”.
He has since talked about turning the Greene Turtle restaurant at Capital One Arena into a sportsbook.
“I’m planning to build a very, very high-end, world-class restaurant called the ‘Sports Book’.
“There will be televisions showing games from all over the world. People will be able to come in watch games and dine and bet. That is something that happens all over the world.”
He added that the new sportsbook would also be accessible from inside the arena via mobile devices.
Down the road the MLB’s Washington Nationals owner Mark Lerner has also been busy getting approval for a luxury betting venue. This will be an up-market 35,000 square foot restaurant at the National Ball Park. It will contain a bar, a lounge, a screen wall, a stage and a roof terrace
Lerner told WTOP in March: “It’s going to take a little bit of time, but we’re excited about the opportunity. I think it’s going to be a great thing for the city.”
