The D.C. Lottery is seeking to bypass the city’s bidding process for vendors to operate a tech platform for sports wagering and, instead, extend its existing relationship with Intralot, a Greek international gaming firm.
In a letter to D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, Beth Bresnahan, executive director of D.C. Lottery, requested the council pass emergency and temporary legislation that would exempt D.C. Lottery’s initial contract procurement from the city’s normal protocol for the purpose of implementing sports wagering as soon as possible. During Tuesday’s legislative session, the council voted to hold a hearing at the end of the month prior to convening a vote.
Intralot, which is part of a joint venture co-owned by DC09, currently operates the D.C. Lottery’s gaming system under a $7 million annual contract. A new contract would be negotiated based on a percentage of gaming revenue.
If the emergency legislation passes, sports wagering could arrive in the District as soon as midsummer, as opposed to the likely two to three years a bidding process would take, according to the D.C. Office of the Chief Revenue Officer. And that speed, D.C. Lottery argues, has serious payoffs for the city.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Katishi Maake over at the Washington Business Journal