An audit conducted by the District of Columbia Auditor (ODCA) ruled that the DC Lottery’s sports betting app, GambetDC, ‘failed to meet expectations’ following its launch.
GambetDC is managed by Intralot, but the state has been recommended by ODCA to offer improved odds, license more private sportsbooks and reduce expense payments to the management provider.
The audit report revealed that revenue between May 2020 to March 2021 was around $1.8m, $1.4m of which came from GambetDC’s sole private competitor, William Hill.
This comes despite previous estimates that sports betting revenue would total around $6.2m across the same period.
ODCA commissioned the report to compare GambetDC’s performance to that of similar sportsbook apps operating in US states including Rhode Island, Montana, New Hampshire, Illinois and Colorado.
The results did show that the app had a greater revenue margin percentage than other states, keeping 17% of all sports bets, compared to the next highest, Montana, with just 12%.
However, GambetDC’s total market share has been weak in comparison to its competitors throughout the period. In July, William Hill generated $10m in sports betting revenue, 78.2% of the total market. Meanwhile, GambetDC took only $2.15m.
The report stated: “The future success of GambetDC will be tied not just to the strength of the District’s recovery from the pandemic but also to the steps the OLG takes to increase sports wagering revenue.”