DC proposal to strip problem gambling fund from fiscal budget gets pushback
Lobbying groups SBA and AGA argue public programs are critical to bolstering operators’ individual resources
Sports betting in Washington DC is once again making headlines for the wrong reasons after Mayor Muriel Bowser submitted a 2024 fiscal budget proposal that included eliminating funding for problem gambling programs.
Under the Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act of 2018, that paved the way for legalized sports betting in DC, the first $200,000 in annual sports betting revenue supposed to be earmarked for problem gambling services.
To date, the District has collected $600,000 in revenue from sports betting taxes but has yet to allocate any of it toward the target programs. That hasn’t sat well with the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) and the American Gaming Association (AGA), two of the most prominent industry lobbying groups in the US.
In a testimony submitted to the DC Committee on Health at the end of March, SBA representative Jeremy Kudon outlined how the resources operators make available to users – such as self-exclusion programs, deposit and staking limits, and player protection teams – aren’t sufficient on their own.
“These internal protections are most effective when complemented by a publicly administered problem gaming treatment and prevention program,” Kudon wrote.
The SBA is an operator lobbying group that includes FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM.
The AGA went a step further, criticizing the District for repeated mistakes dating back to the no-bid contract it awarded in 2019 to Intralot, a European B2B provider that had garnered a poor reputation and has only served to substantiate it through its widely ridiculed and underperforming GambetDC app.
“Unfortunately, this is only the latest misstep by the DC Government in their effort to offer a viable legal sports betting market,” said AGA senior VP Chris Cylke. “The AGA will work with other stakeholders to ensure the District makes good on their obligation to provide problem gambling resources, as well as continue to highlight the need for a competitive mobile marketplace that will increase revenue to fund these important commitments.”
While the budget dispute around public problem gambling programs represents the most recent issue plaguing the DC sports betting industry, it isn’t unique to that market.
A report published by the Responsible Gambling Collaborative in January 2020 revealed that at least four out of 14 states studied were likely not using dedicated problem gambling funds for the intended initiatives.