The DC Lottery’s Intralot-powered Gambet app saw stakes jump 53.3% month-on-month in September, but it still lags far behind William Hill’s retail sportsbook, in terms of both handle and revenue.
Amounts wagered via Gambet, which is available across the city, grew to $3.3m. Customers won $2.8m, which suggests revenue of $498,896, or a 79.4% improvement on August’s figure.
In total there were 92,315 bets placed via the app during September, a 38.1% rise from August.
This takes total amounts staked via Gambet to $6.4m, with customers winning back $5.4m. Assuming there are no adjustments, this would translate to revenue of $956,062 since the app’s launch in May, with the retail component yet to be rolled out.
However Gambet’s performance is dwarfed by William Hill’s retail-only offering at the US capital’s Capital One Arena, which opened in late July.
In September customers wagered $12.2m at the sportsbook, up 33.5% month-over-month, and won $10.9m, leaving revenue of $1.3m. While September’s revenue represented an 8.4% decline from August’s $1.4m, it still comfortably outstrips Gambet’s to-date total.
From the 10% tax on sportsbook gross revenue, betting at the William Hill book generated $130,540.26 for the city’s coffers.
More bets were also placed via the William Hill sportsbooks. Customers placed 113,052 wagers in September, up 63.4%.
That facility is currently only a temporary location, with plans to construct a permanent sportsbook outlined earlier this week.
The permanent location, which is being operated through a partnership with Monumental Sports & Entertainment, owner of the venue and the city’s basketball and ice hockey franchises, is due to open early next year. Construction will begin once the operator receives the necessary regulatory approvals from the DC Lottery.
William Hill this week released renderings of the planned facility, which will feature 12 ticket windows and 10 self-service kiosks, as well as two VIP areas, and a large private dining and event space.
It will broadcast gameday action from a jumbotron on the upper level of the sportsbook, while 1,500 square feet of LED will wrap around the entire sportsbook.
“The success of the William Hill pop-up sports book has exceeded our expectations, and we’re excited to create the next phase of the sports fan experience with our permanent location inside the Capital One Arena,” William Hill US president of retail operations David Grolman said.
“What we’re creating now is a game-day experience that can’t be rivaled. Offering a full-service sports book and restaurant, with an ambiance built around the excitement and energy of live sporting events.”
Monumental’s president of business operations and chief commercial officer Jim van Stone added: “We are thrilled to be the first US sports complex to have opened a year-round sports book at Capital One Arena, located in the nation’s capital.
“The William Hill Sports Book will be a one-of-a-kind, immersive experience not only for Wizards and Capitals fans attending events, but for all sports fans – featuring state-of-the-art audio visual technologies and premium culinary offerings, which will surely become a premier entertainment destination for Washingtonians and visitors to the Greater Washington region.”
Image: William Hill