FanDuel took $78.5m in handle in the three months it was sole DC lottery operator

After FanDuel officially overtook Gambet as the District of Columbia’s digital sports betting contractor for the lottery, they have taken a whopping $78.5m in the last three months.

The switch came after the lottery had been using the GamBetDC app provided by Intralot for the last four years. They then made the change and FanDuel went live in April, with Intralot’s contract expiring on 15 July.

The DC Lottery has shared details of the monthly reports which show that bettors put down 1.9 million bets in the three months.

This is an increase from what was seen with the previous contractor, as bettors only did 1.3 million wagers between October 2023 and July 2024 on GamBetDC’s digital platform and kiosks.

In total, FanDuel’s three-month handle was $78.5 million, with bettors winning $65.5 million. The revenue was $13 million for the American gambling company. $4.5 million in taxes was paid to the city within the first months.

These numbers mark a huge change for the lottery, as bettors only wagered $16.7 million between April – June 2023. This meant that GamBetDC saw a revenue of $1.5 million and all of that went to the city.

FanDuel will now face competition in DC

BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook went live across the District of Columbia on July 17 as they were able to remove the geofences and go District-wide.

This means FanDuel is no longer the sole operator and will face competition from others in the industry. 

Previously, the sports betting companies were restricted to exclusion zones which were within a two-block radius of their retail sportsbooks.

Now, though, both have been able to go live with their platforms throughout the city. And with it now being a more competitive landscape, rather than a monopoly, FanDuel will pay a different tax rate.

Before, when they were the short-lived sole operator, they paid 40% tax. Now, they will be paying 20% tax like the others.

Featured Image: Photo by Heidi Kaden on Unsplash

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