Mayor signs Washington DC sportsbetting legislation

The District of Columbia (DC) may soon become the next United States jurisdiction to legalize sportsbetting after Wednesday saw its mayor, Muriel Bowser (pictured), put her signature to the Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act.

Congressional consent:

According to reports from iGamingBusiness.com and CalvinAyre.com, the move from the Democratic representative came a little over a month after the legislation was overwhelmingly passed by the 13-member DC Council although the measure cannot be implemented until the completion of a 60-day review period to be overseen by the United States Congress.

Uncertain future:

The websites reported that this peculiar stipulation is due to the fact that DC is not a state like the nation’s other sportsbetting-friendly jurisdictions of New Mexico, Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, West Virginia, Rhode Island, Mississippi and Pennsylvania. As such, they detailed that the federal government rarely denies legislation passed by the DC Council although it has recently rebuffed a local effort to legalize marijuana alongside a measure that was designed to guarantee safe access to reproductive care.

Intralot SA designated:

The Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act is reportedly the brainchild of DC Council member Jack Evans and would designate prominent gaming and lottery solutions innovator Intralot SA as the ‘sole-sourcing’ partner for the DC Lottery as it implements sportsbetting. The legislation would moreover purportedly establish an up-front fee for a supplier license of $10,000 alongside an annual renewal duty of $2,000 while requiring operators to pay a 10% tax on their gross wagering revenues.

Fortunate quartet:

If implemented, which will automatically occur if the United States Congress stays silent, the legislation recently signed by 46-year-old Bowser would furthermore reportedly establish a mobile app from the DC Lottery as the main platform for the placing of bets although the city’s four main sports stadiums would be able to pay $250,000 for five-year licenses to operate land-based sportsbooks. This lucky quartet purportedly encompasses the 82,000-seat FedExField and the 41,300-seat Nationals Park as well as the 20,000-seat Audi Field and the similarly-sized Capital One Arena.

Finally, the websites reported that the execution of the Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act would allow these four grounds to launch their own mobile sportsbetting apps although such services would only be accessible within a two-block radius.