Before the Washington D.C. City Council approved a 2025 budget including provisions to expand the D.C. sports betting market, FanDuel president Christian Genetski sent a warning letter to Council Chairman Phil Mendelson.
The letter warned that FanDuel, one of the best sports betting sites in the industry, could “invoke its termination right” if the budget passed and end its contract to operate mobile sports betting on behalf of the Office of Lottery and Gaming (OLG).
Following the passage of the 2025 budget, FanDuel commented that it “remains committed to providing D.C. residents with a best-in-class sports betting offering under its current contract with the Office of Lottery and Gaming, while also maximizing revenue to the District under that agreement.”
The proposal included in the budget would create a new type of sports betting license, a Class C license, allowing sportsbooks to agree to partnerships with local professional sports teams and launch betting platforms available everywhere in the District. FanDuel is the only sportsbook you can play from anywhere in Washington D.C., thanks to its agreement with the OLG.
In the letter, Geneteski said that if the budget passed, “any District-wide sportsbook operations by OLG would no longer have participation from FanDuel.” While the budget has passed the City Council, it still needs approval from Mayor Muriel Bowser.
The loss of FanDuel would be a huge blow for the D.C. government, as the industry-leading sportsbook has taken D.C. sports betting to new heights since FanDuel took over from the failing GambetDC as the official sports betting partner of the district lottery.
FanDuel also outlined its plan to revert to offering retail sports betting at Audi Field through its Class A license before applying for a Class C license if it ends its partnership with the OLG. If this happens, the OLG will seek a new operator to take over its sports betting operations. Previously, Intralot oversaw the GambetDC betting platform.
