During a recent roundtable discussion of the Washington, D.C. city council, two members again expressed concern over the process used to select current lottery vendor Intralot to operate sports betting without accepting bids.
Councilman Robert White said, “I voted against a sole-source because I don’t think it was justified. I didn’t buy the argument that Maryland and Virginia were going to quickly pass, and they didn’t. So now I wonder, ‘What is the justification?’” Councilwoman Elissa Silverman questioned the involvement of Councilman Jack Evans, who’s being investigated for improper dealings in the process.
Council Chairman Phil Mendelson suggested the possibility of retracting the Intralot contract and opening a bidding process. D.C. Lottery Executive Director Beth Bresnahan reiterated her position that the process could take another two years. During that time, she said, the city would lose short- and long-term projected revenue. She had said since the beginning of sports-betting talks that quick legalization would allow D.C. to beat Maryland and Virginia, which both were considering but ended up not legalizing sports betting.
Bresnahan also said, in response to Silverman, that neither the FBI or nor the U.S. Attorney had contacted the lottery about Evans.
Council members also voiced concerns that financial rating companies recently downgraded Intralot. They discussed the impact of issuing a request for proposal instead of approving the Intralot contract, and how that would affect the timetable for launching sports betting.
Following a public comment period ending July 15, Bresnahan said regulations should be completed by the end of the month and operators could be licensed by September, though observers believe early 2020 seems more reasonable since D.C. has no existing gambling structure besides the lottery.
The council also heard comments from several witnesses. Some were residents of poorer neighborhoods or were involved in minority-owned businesses that potentially could benefit from sports betting. Several praised the council for fast-tracking the process with a single-source contract for Intralot.
Also present at the roundtable was Chris Cylke, senior vice president of government relations at the American Gaming Association. His remarks indicated the AGA conceded it could continue to fight for an “open and competitive” marketplace or concede that the D.C. council made its decision to skip the bidding process and offer guidance on how to proceed.
Cylke said, “While the AGA recognizes that there have been significant public concerns surrounding the process that has led to the selection of a vendor to offer sports wagering, it is not our role to comment directly on that process or the suitability and ability of that specific vendor to successfully provide sports betting in the District. What we can do is offer input on the critical areas that the District and every other governmental body should consider as they decide who is authorized to offer sports wagering within their jurisdiction.”
Another industry group, iDEA Growth, an association of interactive entertainment platforms, released a statement ahead of the meeting. In it, founder Jeff Ifrah said, “iDEA Growth members advocate that the D.C. council consider a competitive bidding process for the sports wagering and lottery contractor. History demonstrates that competition through a consumer-choice business model brings revenue and creates a robust industry. D.C. should be best positioned to reap the financial benefits of a thriving industry in which to allocate funds to appropriate initiatives. We encourage the city council to opt for an open process that will benefit consumers and give D.C. the opportunity for the greatest return on revenue.”
Ifrah added, “We want to avoid delays in the rollout. We think D.C. consumers want to get online this fall and we think that can still be accomplished if the council can focus its attention on some of the concerns raised by the contracting process.”
