DC Lottery delays sports betting launch due to lack of sports

The District of Columbia’s long-delayed legal sports betting launch has been postponed yet again, this time (allegedly) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The DC Lottery was originally scheduled to launch its Intralot-powered digital sports betting product in January, but in November that timeline was pushed back to sometime in the first quarter of 2020. On Monday, the Washington City Paper reported that the Lottery had now ‘indefinitely’ delayed its betting launch.

A spokesperson said the Lottery’s web and mobile wagering platforms “are tested and ready to go live.” The problem is that the mass cancellation of sports events due to the coronavirus has left the Lottery with “little-to-no games or bets to offer” DC residents. The Lottery was “revising” its launch strategy and promised updates in the coming days, including “introducing the brand and its functionalities.”

The spokesperson denied that the betting launch was due to Intralot’s financial woes. The company’s shares have been on a fairly uninterrupted downward spiral since the end of January 2018, when they stood at €1.37. The shares closed Tuesday’s trading on the Athens exchange at just under €0.14. Earlier this month, Intralot appointed a new CEO, Sokratis Kokkalis, but it still hasn’t issued its Q419 financial results.