Judge John M. Campbell of Washington, D.C. Superior Court recently ruled that the D.C. Council probably did not violate the law when it granted a no-bid, $215 million contract to Intralot, which already manages the district’s lottery, to create a sports betting app. The D.C. Council approved the Intralot contract in July in a 7-5 vote.
D.C. resident Dylan Carragher had filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming he planned to create an app to compete in the potentially lucrative sports betting market. His lawsuit claimed the no-bid contract violated the city’s Home Rule Act. Carragher sought a preliminary injunction to stop the city and Intralot from continuing to work on the app.
In denying the request for the preliminary injunction, Campbell said, “We can spend all day debating whether it’s a good idea or not. We can debate all day whether the Council should have done it. But it was clearly and plainly within the Council’s authority. It’s been done before, and it will probably be done again.” The decision reverses another judge’s ruling from late September.
Donald Temple, Carragher’s attorney, said will continue to pursue the issue. A hearing could take place next month on the merits of the lawsuit, or in a separate appeal, he said. “It’s clearly a disturbing opinion and contradicts the case law,” he said.
Intralot officials said the sports betting app, which will be accessible throughout the city, is expected to launch in January. Other apps will work in D.C., but only within designated sports betting facilities.
Last year an analysis estimated sports betting would generate $7.7 million in revenue for the city during the 2019 fiscal year, $26 million for 2020 and $28.3 million for 2021. Because of like the lawsuit, estimates were adjusted to $17.1 million for the 2020 fiscal year and $27 million for 2021.
D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said he was “glad the court has given this the green light. The fact is that we’re going to see sports betting with a mobile application expand among many states over the next several years, and there’s no reason the District should be left behind.” D.C. Lottery spokeswoman Nicole Jordan added the agency is “fully focused on resuming the modernization of the Lottery and implementation of sports wagering in the District.”
