Washington, D.C. Betting

Washington, D.C. is not a state but a federal district, and that shows in its betting law: District legislation must clear congressional review before it takes effect, and gambling is barred on federal land inside the city. Online sports betting is legal here, licensed by the DC Office of Lottery and Gaming (OLG), with a minimum age of 18 rather than the usual 21. Wagering on horse races is not among the activities District law permits, and prediction markets hold no OLG licence.

What Changed in 2024

Sports wagering was legalised by Act 22-594, the Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act of 2018, codified at D.C. Code § 36–621.01 onwards (D.C. Law 22-312, 66 DCR 1402). It was signed on 23 January 2019 "and transmitted to the U.S. Congress for review on February 7, 2019. This legislation cleared congressional review and became law on May 3, 2019."

That law let the District run a sportsbook itself. Under § 36–621.11(a)(1), "The District of Columbia, through the Office, may conduct sports wagering ... including mobile and online transactions", engaging "a contractor or contractors to provide the systems". The statute names the contract — "The contract #CFOPD-19-C-041 with Intralot Inc." — and the app it produced was GambetDC.

The first half of the change happened inside that contract, not in new legislation. On 9 March 2024 the OLG announced "that FanDuel is the new sports wagering subcontractor for Intralot, Inc."; on 15 April 2024 it confirmed that FanDuel's app and website had launched, "completely replacing the current GambetDC sports betting app and website".

The second half was legislation, and it produced the licensed market. Subtitle R of the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Support Act of 2024 carries the short title "Sports Wagering Amendment Act of 2024" — section 7172 of D.C. Law 25-217 (effective 18 September 2024, 71 DCR 9990), which "shall apply as of July 15, 2024". It created the Class C licence and added to § 36–621.02 the rule that now defines the market: "Mobile or online sports wagering shall be operated only by a Class A sports wagering operator ... or a Class C sports wagering operator ... and the licensees shall accept only ... wagers from persons physically located in the District of Columbia."

Class a, Class B and Class C Licences

The classes and the platform rule sit in § 36–621.06. A Class A licence attaches to one of four named venues — Capital One Arena, Audi Field, Nationals Park and St Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports Arena — costs $1,000,000, and since 2024 permits on-premises betting plus "the operation of one individually branded platform offering mobile or online sports wagering". A Class B licence covers venues outside those four, costs $100,000, is uncapped, and confines mobile betting to the premises.

Class C is the district-wide mobile licence, tethered to a sports team: the Office may issue one "to an eligible sports team applicant or its assignee", meaning a team in one of seven named leagues that plays "90% or more of its home games within the District of Columbia". The licence "may be assigned, delegated, or subcontracted to a commercial partner that provides sports wagering through a mobile or online application" — which is how a national brand reaches the District without owning a team. The fee is $2,000,000, and tax runs at 20% of gross sports wagering revenue for Class A, 10% for Class B and 30% for Class C, directed since 1 October 2024 to the District's Child Trust Fund.

Who Is Licensed in Washington, D.C.

The OLG's own roster, revised 30 April 2026, records Standard Class A operator licences for American Wagering Inc. dba Caesars Sportsbook at Capital One Arena, Betfair Interactive US dba FanDuel at Audi Field and BetMGM, LLC at Nationals Park, each annotated "District Wide Online/Mobile APP"; temporary Class C licences for Crown DC Gaming, LLC dba DraftKings and FBG Enterprises Opco, LLC dba Fanatics; and a provisional Class B licence for S&S U Street, LLC at 1314 U Street NW. Several rows carry expiry dates marked "(Extended)", so check the approved-licences page itself.

Geofencing is fiddly here, the exclusion zones being carved out of a small city. A Class C operator "must maintain online and Mobile application restriction on the 2-block radius of a Class A exclusivity zone and within the areas of the District where gambling is prohibited (Federal Enclave)" — an enclave the OLG has described as "all federal lands, including the National Mall, White House, Capitol ... and Rock Creek Park".

Minimum Age and Permitted Markets

The OLG states the age limit plainly in its sports wagering FAQs: "The minimum age to place or cash a sports wager in the District is 18 years of age." The Code does not fix the figure; § 36–621.07(c)(10)(A) instead requires an operator to "Verify that an individual, or group of individuals, placing a wager is of the legal minimum age for placing the wager". Eighteen is the District's floor; a licensee may set a higher threshold.

Markets are approved one at a time: "An Operator or Management Services Provider shall not accept any wager on a sports event unless it has received prior approval from the OLG." College betting is doubly restricted — nothing played in the District, and nothing involving a District college team anywhere. High-school events are prohibited.

Horse Racing

D.C. Code § 22–1717 lists the exceptions to the general gambling ban exhaustively — one of which is "sports wagering regulated, licensed, or operated by the Office of Lottery and Gaming" — and racing is absent. Section 22–1708 makes it an offence to "make or place a bet or wager ... on the result of any athletic contest", and defines "athletic contest" to include "a trotting or running race of horses, or a running race of dogs". The OLG catalogue of approved events, amended effective 20 August 2026, lists no horse or greyhound racing.

That answers the question a status label leaves open: account wagering from inside the District is not lawful either. Under the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978, an interstate off-track wager may be accepted "only if consent is obtained from" the host racing association, the host racing commission and "the off-track racing commission"; an "off-track betting system" must be "conducted by the State or licensed or otherwise permitted by State law"; and "State" expressly includes the District of Columbia. District law permits no such system and designates no off-track betting regulator, so that consent chain cannot be completed.

Prediction Markets

Sports-event contracts sit in a grey area, and the reason is specific. The District's statutory definition of "sports wagering" expressly covers "exchange wagering", and § 36–621.02 confines mobile and online sports wagering to Class A and Class C licensees — yet no event-contract exchange appears on the OLG's approved-licences list. What is missing is a statement of position. The licence roster, the sports wagering FAQs, the approved-events catalogue and the OLG newsroom's sports wagering category say nothing about Kalshi, Polymarket or event contracts, and nothing on the Attorney General's newsroom addresses them. Unlike several neighbours, the District has not publicly taken a side.

Responsible Gambling and Self-Exclusion

The OLG's Play Responsibly page leads with a helpline: "If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Council on Problem Gambling help-line at 1-800-522-4700." It also lists "1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738)" and a text option on 800GAM.

The Self-Exclusion Program is wider than one app: someone who signs up at a licensed facility "will not only be excluded from the particular facility, but from all gambling establishments (retail or online/mobile app) in the District". Apply at a facility, online, or to the OLG's Responsible Gambling Specialist on (202) 788-2102.