Best online sportsbook District of Columbia questions used to have a one-app answer that nobody was happy with. Today there are five — FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars, and Fanatics — all taking mobile bets anywhere inside the District, the end result of a regulatory reversal that took less than two years to play out.

A Monopoly That Didn't Work

DC legalized sports betting through the Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act of 2018, but instead of licensing competing operators the way most states did, the Council routed the entire online market through the DC Lottery's own app. The Lottery awarded the contract to Intralot without competitive bidding in 2019, and GambetDC went live citywide in September 2020. It was the only truly citywide option for nearly four years — and a 2023 DC Auditor report found it had badly missed its own revenue projections, with bettors frequently citing a clunky interface and uncompetitive odds compared to apps available just across the river in Virginia or Maryland.

Two tiers, from the start: Alongside GambetDC, DC always allowed a handful of "Class A" sportsbooks tied to specific venues — Caesars at Capital One Arena opened in May 2021 — but those could only take mobile bets within two blocks of the venue itself. Walk three blocks away and the app simply stopped working.

Is Online Sports Betting Legal in DC? Yes — Now With Competition

The fix came through the budget process, not a standalone bill. The Council's FY2025 budget, finalized in June 2024 and built around Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie's Sports Wagering Amendment Act, created a new Class C citywide mobile license and let BetMGM and Caesars shed their 2-block restrictions. Both went fully citywide on July 17, 2024. DraftKings followed on July 26 through a market-access deal with D.C. United, and FanDuel had already taken over the Lottery's own citywide contract that April, retiring GambetDC for good. Fanatics was last in, launching citywide September 12, 2024 via a partnership with the Washington Spirit.

DC sportsbook handle, July 2026

  • Citywide handle: $64.2 million (up 14.7% year over year)
  • FanDuel: 38.2% of handle, 50.9% of revenue
  • DraftKings: 30.9% of handle, 28.7% of revenue
  • Regulator: DC Office of Lottery and Gaming
  • Active Class C licenses: 6 of 7 issued

Is FanDuel Legit in DC, or Just First in Line?

Both, really. FanDuel's lead isn't purely a holdover — it also runs a 2,550-square-foot retail sportsbook at Audi Field under the older Class A license, giving it a physical presence the newer Class C entrants don't have. But a big share of its 38.2% handle share is simply inherited GambetDC traffic that had nowhere else to go until 2024, which is worth knowing if you're picking an app based on odds and features rather than name recognition alone.

What the Tax Rates Say About Each License

DC taxes by license class, and the rates tell the same story as the launch dates. FanDuel's Class A license — the one it inherited along with the Audi Field venue deal — pays 20% of revenue. DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars, and Fanatics all operate under the newer Class C citywide license, which pays a steeper 30%. Smaller retail-only Class B locations pay just 10%. None of this changes what a bettor sees in the app, but it explains why DC regulators weren't in a hurry to hand out citywide access for free.

None of this is a way to make money. It's 21+ entertainment regulated by the DC Office of Lottery and Gaming, with a real house edge regardless of which of the five apps you open — and, as of 2026, a sixth Class C license still sitting unclaimed if another national operator wants in.

The short list

  1. 1. FanDuel — Citywide handle and revenue leader, FanDuel inherited GambetDC's old lottery contract

    FanDuel took over as the District's lottery-operated sportsbook on April 15, 2024, replacing the glitchy, no-bid GambetDC app the DC Auditor had already flagged for underperforming. It led DC handle at 38.2% and revenue at 50.9% in July 2026, and also holds the Class A retail license at Audi Field — giving it both the old monopoly's customer base and a physical sportsbook.

  2. 2. DraftKings — Second in handle and revenue, live citywide via a D.C. United deal

    DraftKings launched online across the District on July 26, 2024, DC's 29th North American market, using a market-access partnership with D.C. United rather than a venue lease. It held 30.9% of DC handle and 28.7% of revenue in July 2026, and pays the 30% Class C tax rate rather than FanDuel's 20% Class A rate — a direct cost of entering as a newcomer instead of inheriting the old lottery license.

  3. 3. BetMGM — Retail anchor at Nationals Park, citywide since day one of the open market

    BetMGM runs its DC retail sportsbook inside Nationals Park and was one of the first two operators, alongside Caesars, to flip from 2-block-radius-only mobile betting to full citywide access on July 17, 2024, the day the Sports Wagering Amendment Act of 2024 took effect. A fit for a reader who wants a baseball-adjacent retail option alongside the app.

  4. 4. Caesars Sportsbook — Retail anchor at Capital One Arena, DC's original Class A sportsbook

    Caesars opened the District's first major retail sportsbook inside Capital One Arena in May 2021, under an exclusive 2-block mobile radius around the Wizards' and Capitals' home arena. That radius restriction ended July 17, 2024, when Caesars went citywide alongside BetMGM under the new competitive framework.

  5. 5. Fanatics Sportsbook — Newest citywide app, built around DC's NWSL team

    Fanatics Sportsbook launched citywide in DC on September 12, 2024 through a market-access partnership with the Washington Spirit, its first deal with a women's pro sports franchise. It's the fifth and most recent of the District's citywide apps, with the shortest track record of the group.

The honest verdict

FanDuel is the top pick for a DC account, carrying 38.2% of citywide handle and more than half the District's sportsbook revenue (50.9%) as of July 2026 — a legacy of it directly succeeding GambetDC as the DC Lottery's own app in April 2024, not a position it had to win from scratch. DraftKings is the clear second choice, running close behind at 30.9% of handle and 28.7% of revenue after launching citywide on July 26, 2024 through a market-access deal with D.C. United. BetMGM and Caesars are both solid picks for a reader who wants a retail counterpart to walk into — Nationals Park and Capital One Arena, respectively — and both went live citywide on the same day, July 17, 2024, the moment the new competitive framework took effect. Fanatics rounds out the list as the newest entrant, live since September 12, 2024 through a partnership with the Washington Spirit, DC's NWSL team, and still building the track record the other four already have. All five operate under the DC Office of Lottery and Gaming. None of this is a way to make money — it's 21+ entertainment with a real house edge, now spread across five competing apps instead of one city-run one.

Questions this list actually answers

What is the best online sportsbook in the District of Columbia?

FanDuel, by both handle and revenue — it carried 38.2% of DC's sportsbook handle and 50.9% of its revenue in July 2026, a holdover advantage from directly replacing the city-run GambetDC app in April 2024. DraftKings is a strong second at roughly 31% of handle. BetMGM, Caesars, and Fanatics are all live citywide too, each tied to a different DC sports franchise for market access.

Is online sports betting legal in Washington DC?

Yes. The DC Council legalized sports wagering through the Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act of 2018, with the DC Lottery's own app launching citywide in 2020. A 2024 budget provision, the Sports Wagering Amendment Act, then opened the market to private national operators, who now run citywide mobile betting under DC Office of Lottery and Gaming oversight. Betting is barred inside the District's federal enclave areas, like the National Mall and federal buildings.

What happened to GambetDC?

GambetDC was the DC Lottery's own sports betting app, awarded to Intralot through a no-bid contract in 2019 and live citywide from September 2020. It was widely criticized for a clunky interface and weak odds, and a DC Auditor report found it underperforming its own revenue projections. The Office of Lottery and Gaming announced in March 2024 that FanDuel would take over the citywide lottery contract, and the switch happened April 15, 2024, with former GambetDC users given six months to withdraw old balances.

Why do DC sportsbooks pay different tax rates?

DC taxes sports betting by license class, not by operator size. Class A operators — sportsbooks tied to one of the District's four designated venues, like FanDuel at Audi Field — pay 20% of revenue. The newer Class C citywide mobile license, created by the 2024 budget and used by DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars, and Fanatics, pays a higher 30% rate. Smaller Class B retail locations pay 10%.

Is FanDuel or DraftKings safer to use in DC?

Both are licensed and regulated by the DC Office of Lottery and Gaming, so neither carries extra legal risk over the other. FanDuel holds the longer DC track record, having run the city's lottery contract since April 2024 on top of its Audi Field retail license. DraftKings is regulated under the newer Class C citywide license and has operated in DC since July 2024 — a shorter history, not a lesser one.

Can a sixth sportsbook still launch in DC?

Possibly. The 2024 budget capped Class C citywide licenses at seven, and as of 2026 only six are in active use — FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics, and theScore Bet, which holds a license but reported no handle in recent monthly filings. One Class C license remains unclaimed, so a seventh national operator could still enter the District's citywide market.