While the brick-and-mortar gambling establishments are suffering because of the coronavirus pandemic, the District of Columbia is looking to launch its sports betting app by month-end. Note that there are no major sporting events that would feature on this app because of cancellations owing to the coronavirus.

DC makes its plans clear

On Tuesday, the DC Office of Lottery said that it is still following the schedule of launching its sports betting app by the end of this month. The Lottery spokeswoman Nicole Jordan acknowledged the fact that sporting events have been in flux because of the pandemic. However, she noted that the Lottery is continuing to work with its technology partner Intralot on developing the website and mobile app for public launch.

In an email sent on Tuesday, she said that all major sporting events have been suspended indefinitely because of which there will be little to no games that the users can bet on in the upcoming weeks.

“This goes for the Lottery’s offering, as well as any other sportsbooks operating in the U.S. and globally. It really is all quite alarming, but the health and safety of players, fans and the public, in general, should always come first,” she added.

A shift from original plans

Earlier, the District of Columbia aimed to start the program to capture the 2019 NFL season. However, some controversies and lawsuits related to Intralot delayed the launch. The DC Council had suspended normal procurement rules while selecting a technology vendor and gave Intralot a no-bid contract for mobile wagering after which the district was sued and the contract was temporarily blocked.

The lawsuit was only dismissed in December 2019, after which the council expelled Jack Evans, who introduced sports betting to the district in 2018. Evans was voted out for alleged ethics violations and resigned in January this year. But DC is not the only place where Intralot’s involvement has stirred up issues. The state of Oregon also runs sports betting via the lottery and there too, Intralot is the only technology vendor.

The DC lottery has already accepted three applications for licenses. The first two are supplier licenses for MediaTroopers Inc. and SportsRadar. The third is a Class A operator license at Capital One Arena from William Hill. The lottery is currently reviewing these applications. It also expects William Hill to send another Class A operator application at Audi Field from William Hill.