As expected, the Washington DC sports betting leader is not – and most likely will never be – GambetDC. For now, it’s William Hill.
William Hill, the only other sports betting operator in DC with a retail-only book at Capital One Arena, took $9.1 million in bets for August. The sportsbook officially opened July 31 and took $1,830 in bets that day.
William Hill reported revenue of $1.4 million, which is a high 15.6% hold rate, according to the report.
The GambetDC online sportsbook operated by Intralot, meanwhile, has taken just $3.1 million in bets since the platform launched May 28. Action is likely far lower because of its poorly priced lines.
Those pricier odds have led to a 14.7% hold for GambetDC since launch with $457,166 in revenue.
William Hill outshines Intralot in DC sports betting debut
Most expected any sportsbook other than GambetDC to lead the DC sports betting market when Intralot’s US platform with overpriced lines went live.
It took just one month for a retail operation to prove price is worth the inconvenience of traveling to the book rather than paying extra on Intralot’s mobile app.
Bettors wagered just $2.1 million on GambetDC in August. Revenue was $278,141, which was good for 13% hold.
In a normal August, which typically only includes baseball from the four major US sports, that would be a weak total handle. But considering this year included full slates of NBA and NHL games as well, the result appears to be downright abysmal.
GambetDC bettors staking less per bet
Intralot’s expensive odds are keeping big bettors off its platform and sending them to Downtown DC instead.
There were 66,831 bets placed on the GambetDC platform. That shakes out to an average bet of $31.90.
William Hill, meanwhile, saw 69,085 bets for the month. That equals an average bet of $132.16.
Expect that trend to continue, especially through the fall. Other than convenience, bettors have no reason to bet on NFL games that have 36-cent (or more) lines through Intralot instead of the traditional 20-cent lines from William Hill.
