A report from MSN indicates that sports betting in the District of Columbia hasn’t provided the financial windfall optimists expected. Part of the shortfall is tied to bad timing: the bets became legal in D.C. near the start of the global pandemic, which not only had a depressing effect on the U.S. economy, but also shut down most live sporting events.
“Our gambling income is below where we thought it would be because of the economy,” said DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson.
The bets were projected to bring in $17 million between October 2019 and September 2020. That revenue was expected to support services like education, housing and public safety, the news outlet reported. According to unaudited financial reports from the DC Lottery, the app only generated about $2.5 million.
“Those numbers included us being fully out in retail, which we could not do in a pandemic,” said Nicole Jordan of the DC Lottery. Moreover, the app launched in March, but sporting events didn’t resume until mid-summer. Self-serve kiosks were supposed to be set up in restaurants and DC Lottery stores, which also didn’t happen. Plans for gaming at Nationals Park and Audi Field were also shelved.
According to the Office of Lottery and Gaming, at least two companies with plans to open their own shops have applications that are “under review” but not yet in operation, contributing to the shortfall.
