DC Council Approves Intralot’s Controversial Sports Betting Contract

The DC Council has approved Intralot’s controversial sports betting contract in the District of Columbia.

The DC Council voted 7–5 in favour of a five-year, $215m sports betting technology contract for Intralot. The vote came despite mounting evidence that the sole-source, no-bid contract was the result of sketchy connections between Council members and lobbyists, as well as lucrative subcontracts for local firms with no wagering experience.

The decision to simply award Intralot the betting tech contract was justified on the notion that holding a competitive tender would create further delays in launching DC’s wagering operations. But few people who were not part of the DC Council, the DC Lottery or Intralot have swallowed this argument.

Opposition grew louder with media reports of potential conflicts of interest by members of the Council, particularly Jack Evans, who was stripped of his chairmanship of the Council’s Committee on Finance and Revenue before the Intralot vote.