For those looking to place bets in Washington, D.C., including those from Virginia, there will be four more options to consider.
On Friday, four D.C. sports betting kiosks will be live at four locations in the district — Ben's Next Door (U Street), Lou's City Bar (Irving Street NW), Dirty Water Sports Bar (H Street NE) and Takoma Station Tavern (4th Street NW) — according to an NBC4 report.
The machines will be cash-only and bettors 18 years or older are allowed to use them, the report said. The touch screen kiosks allow wagers without having to set up an account.
Any enhancement to current sports betting in D.C. can only help.
The D.C. Lottery’s GambetDC app launched in May 2020 and has been regularly outperformed by William Hill’s retail sportsbook at Capital One Arena and now an app that can be used in the arena and two blocks around it.
BetMGM launched its sports betting app in June within a two-block radius of Nationals Park.
BetMGM VA Sportsbook, live in Virginia, and the Nationals announced a partnership agreement in January to put a retail sportsbook at Nationals Park and the mobile app within the permitted area around the stadium.
VA Sports Betting is Flourishing
VA sports betting, which launched in January, has seen more than $1 billion wagered in just over four full months.
In May, the last month a report was available, Virginia had a sports betting handle of $227 million with gross revenue of $15.7 million.
By comparison, the total sports betting handle in Washington for May was almost $13.8 million — $10.67 million from William Hill and $3.1 million from GambetDC.
There will be multiple kiosks at each D.C. location.
"On average, you’ll probably see about three or four kiosks in these locations. At larger locations they can do more, but it's really about integrating into their business. So, I want to make sure the community knows we’re not trying to set up betting parlors," Nicole Jordan, D.C. Lottery spokesperson, told NBC4.
7 VA Sportsbooks Are Live
For those who gamble in Virginia, there are seven online sportsbooks live. The last online sportsbook to launch was Unibet on April 28.
Golden Nugget, Bally’s Corp. and Penn National Gaming (Barstool Sportsbook) have been approved, but have not set a launch date.
In addition to sports betting, Virginia could have five casinos opening in the next few years. The Virginia Lottery Board last week announced it had approved permanent casino gaming regulations.
