D.C. Councilman Who Helped Bring In Sports Betting Resigns

• Sports betting in Washington D.C. is not currently active.
• Councilman Jack Evans resigned due to personal dealings in sports betting.
• Councilman Evans will leave his position on January 17.

WASHINGTON – Councilman Jack Evans, a key figure that helped legalize sports betting for Washington D.C., has resigned on Tuesday.

Reason For Resignation

The process to find a sports betting provider for the District should have taken a much longer route than normal, but Councilman Evans expedited the process. Normally, there is a bidding process to see who could become an operator in the area. Instead, Councilman Evans introduced legislation that allowed for Intralot to be the sole operator in the nation’s capital.

This went against the norms and although the resolution passed, an ethics investigation was immediately launched against Evans after sports betting was legalized. It was recommended that Evans should be removed from office due to his business connections benefiting with his votes.

Hearings for the removal of Councilman Evans were supposed to start on Tuesday. Instead, Councilman Evans sent in a letter stating that he is resigning. January 17 will be Jack Evans’ last day in office. Fellow councilmen said that this process was necessary to restore public trust.

“The public has a right to expect that their elected officials are ethical, and it’s a fragile trust,” said Council Chairman Phil Mendelson to wtop.

What To Expect From D.C. Sports Betting

Despite the removal of Councilman Evans, sports betting is coming to the D.C. area. Back in February of 2019 sports betting in Washington D.C. was formally legalized. The D.C. Lottery will take control of sports betting and other operators can join in on the action.

Restaurants and bars are allowed to partner with sports betting operators. The four major arenas and stadiums in Washington D.C. are also expecting to open their own sportsbooks. Since there are no casinos in D.C., mobile wagering is allowed. However, mobile wagering will have a limited range depending on location.

Intralot does have a longer range but with certain restrictions. Their mobile and online sportsbooks cannot operate on federal grounds nor overlap with other sportsbooks. This is part of the reason why although D.C. sports betting was legalized nearly a year ago, it is still not operating.

The process of opening a sportsbook in D.C. could have been simpler if the normal bidding process happened. Instead, a rushed resolution was brought on by Evans, slowing the process by an entire year. It is currently unknown when sports betting will launch in Washington D.C.

News tags: Intralot | Jack Evans | Phil Mendelson | Washington DC