Washington, the capital, became the eighth American state to legalize sports betting after a council vote passed bill 11-2 almost unanimously. It is still an emergency legislation but that makes it effective immediately, and who will draft the regulations will be the D.C. Lottery. Within 60 days, the permanent bill must be approved by Governor Muriel Bowser. This Sports Lottery Amendment Act, allows digital and retail sports betting in the country’s capital, with competitive taxes (10% of income) and without integrity or data fees. Excited by the regulations, board member Jack Evans confessed to reporters that the bets could start even before the MLB season began in April. For now, only DC Lottery’s Intralot platform will have the concession. The main sports facilities in the city will be able to sign with their own partners and thus offer mobile betting within an exclusive zone. There are four places that can offer bets so far: FedEx Field (capacity for 82 thousand people), Nationals Park (capacity for 41 thousand), Capital One Arena (capacity for 20,173 spectators) and Audi Field (capacity for 20 thousand spectators) . Operators will pay 10% of the gross revenue received on bets. For mega sports investor and owner of two city teams (Washington Wizards, the NBA and Washington Capitals, NHL) Ted Leonsis, the mobile restrictions represented a “disservice to fans, who did not receive the benefit of competition in the market”.
