Intralot, the company responsible for operating Washington D.C.’s only citywide sports betting app, has paid $500,000 in compensation to the D.C. Lottery for a technical mishap that took the app offline for Apple users during the Super Bowl, which is usually the biggest single-day sports betting event in the U.S.
According to Frank Suarez, the director of the D.C. Lottery, the payment was allocated as such: $65,000 for lost gambling revenue, $6,300 for promotions the lottery spent while appeasing angry users, and $428,000 to assist with reputation management and overcome what Suarez dubbed as “negative sentiment.”
The app, known as GambetDC, was taken offline before the big game by Apple following a bungled software update from Intralot. As a result, all those with Apple devices–nearly half of the app’s 30,000 registered users–were unable to wager or access their accounts. Users with Android devices were unaffected.
In 2019 the D.C. Council granted Intralot a sole-source lottery contract that included the right to operate the only legal sports betting app in the city, which became GambetDC in 2020. The $215 million contract has been largely controversial since its passing, and this recent incident has only brought more criticism to the Greek lottery company.
Suarez, who assumed his role in mid-2021, said that Intralot’s recent payment will be crucial for marketing efforts as they try to regenerate their player base. With regards to the $428,000 allotment specifically, Suarez said that reputational damage can’t be measured, but there was some analysis of “how much we would have lost in player registration.”
GambetDC has been met with a lukewarm reception since its release, as users have complained that the city-endorsed app has poorer odds and less usability than other private apps available in other nearby markets such as Virginia.
Suarez reported to the council in March that GambetDC was slated to generate $1.5 million in revenue for the city this year, which is about 10 percent of what city officials were pitched when Intralot’s sole-source contract was being negotiated.
Despite this, Suarez remains confident that the evolution of GambetDC will garner success. In his statement to lawmakers, he reiterated that the recent developments would result in “a complete revamp and overhaul of the interface,” and that the end product would be “more user-intuitive and streamlined.”
As of now, the only other sports betting apps authorized to operate in the city are offered through sportsbooks located at Capital One Arena, Nationals Park, and a bar named Grand Central–the apps are only accessible within a two-block radius of those locations.
