DC sportsbooks reach record high of $80 million of bets in March

DC sportsbooks have hit a record high of $80 million of bets across its operators, creating a new record since the open market shift last July.

March saw the busiest month for sportsbook operators in Washington DC since it moved to an open market in July 2024, reaching around $80 million worth of bets, as reported by Casino Beats. That’s in part thanks to a combination of high-profile sporting events, including the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.

For the men’s side, all four number one seeds reached the Final Four for the first time in 17 years. The women’s Final Four was made up of three number one seeds and the number two seed from UConn, winning a record 12th national championship.

Some operators fared even better than others, with FanDuel leading the pack with a $42.5 million take in March alone. That shakes down as $39.2 million won by customers in prizes and payouts, with a 7.7% hold for the month. That compares to a still-impressive $23.2 million take the previous month.

DraftKings trailed far behind with $17.8 million in payouts and a 9.6% hold, while Caesars came in third with $10.6 million taken in bets and a 14.1% hold.

The same rankings hold for the number of wagers, with FanDuel once again leading the charge with 1.4 million bets, ahead of DraftKings’ 1.1 million, and Caesars’ 280,323 total wagers. These industry leaders are stepping into the gap left behind by Gambet DC, which once held an easy monopoly over the region. However, the app was shut down in April 2024 after a high-profile malfunctions during Super Bowl 56 ended in a $500,000 settlement with the DC Lottery.

FanDuel, which already ran a retail sportsbook at Audi Field, stepped in as DC’s official sports gambling app, opening up more possibilities for DC residents, who could previously only bet via the GambetDC app, physical kiosks, or brick-and-mortar sportsbooks.

Featured image: Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

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