D.C. Lottery

The board licenses games of chance that are conducted by DC-based non-profit organizations. D.C., Virginia, and Maryland-based charities can offer raffles, with the provision that these drawings are held in the District of Columbia. Organizations seeking to conduct such fundraisers must obtain a license from the board, with D.C. Lottery employees supervising the drawings to assure fairness.[3]

On May 14, 2018 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 which allowed sports wagering only in the State of Nevada to be unconstitutional.[8] This was brought forth in the case of Christie v. the NCAA in which then New Jersey governor Chris Christie (R) wanted to legalize sports wagering in his and other states and territories (Including the District) but professional sports organizations including the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Major League Baseball, National Football League and the National Hockey League opposed such operations. Following the ruling, the District of Columbia government, which included Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and the members of the D.C. City Council, began working on legalizing sports wagering within the district. On September 21, 2021 the D.C. City Council passed, and Mayor Bowser signed into law that legalized sports wagering, the D.C. Lottery was tasked with overseeing the regulation of sports wagering licenses and sportsbook facility.[9]

The D.C. Lottery began operating a wagering app which geo-fences customers to areas within the District of Columbia[10] but access to certain areas of the district would be excluded including, Capitol Hill, residential areas and in and around all the federal buildings, and within 2 blocks of a brick and mortar sportsbook facility.[11] The D.C. Lottery also began operating sports wagering kiosks (GambetDC) at authorized D.C. Lottery agents including at local bodegas, bars, gas stations and restaurants.[12] William Hill owned by Caesars Entertainment[13] was the first sportsbook in the District of Columbia opening its temporary sportsbook in an unused box office area of the Capital One Arena on July 31, 2020 and its permanent sportsbook on May 26, 2021, in the former Greene Turtle Sports Bar and Restaurant on the F and 6th Streets N.W. corner of the Capital One Arena.[14][15] This was followed by BetMGM opening a sportsbook at Nationals Park, FanDuel sportsbook at Audi Field and a sportsbook which will open at the Entertainment and Sports Arena.

As part of the regulations of sports wagering, the District of Columbia prohibits the betting on local college sports including athletics at Georgetown University, George Washington University, American University and Howard University. This is consistent with states like New Jersey which also prohibit wagering on collegiate athletics at big universities like Rutgers, Seton Hall and Princeton.

The DC Lottery unveiled DC iLottery, a digital sales platform for purchasing lottery games. Players can access DC iLottery from their smart phone, computer, or tablet, and once registered for an account, can play DC3, DC4, DC5, DC Keno, Race2Riches games, and more while physically in the district and not within an area of the District where lottery play is prohibited. The platform uses geolocation technology to confirm a player’s location before a ticket can be purchased.[16]

• D.C. Lottery official website