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Delays in Washington D.C. sports betting expansion: BetMGM, Caesars, and FanDuel in limbo

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Delays in Washington D.C. sports betting expansion: BetMGM, Caesars, and FanDuel in limbo


The anticipated launch of BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook in Washington D.C. has hit a significant snag due to unresolved budget approval issues. The situation remains unchanged as of early Wednesday morning, July 17, 2024, with both platforms restricted to their respective brick-and-mortar locations and FanDuel halting its citywide online operations.

Budget Approval Issues Stall Sports Betting Expansion

FanDuel, currently the only online platform offering citywide sports gambling in D.C., stopped accepting bets on Tuesday. The halt came because Mayor Muriel E. Bowser had not signed the city’s budget for the 2025 fiscal year, which includes provisions for the continuation and expansion of sports betting. “FanDuel will resume sports betting operations in the city upon final approval of the FY2025 DC Budget,” the company stated to The Washington Post.

Mayor Bowser’s office clarified that she had returned the budget to the D.C. Council without her signature or a veto, effectively allowing the sports gambling provisions to take effect immediately. Despite this, FanDuel had not resumed its online operations by Tuesday evening, leaving bettors and industry stakeholders in a state of uncertainty.

Impact on BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook

The budget delay has also affected BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook, which were set to launch district-wide on July 15. BetMGM’s app continues to restrict bets to within a two-block radius of Nationals Park, where the company has a physical sportsbook. A planned promotional event for BetMGM’s expanded D.C. offerings was canceled, and the company stated that the initiative is “in a pause.” Similarly, Caesars Sportsbook, which operates a brick-and-mortar location at Capital One Arena, remains limited to that area.

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Legislative and Market Dynamics

The confusion stems from the complex legislative and contractual dynamics involving the D.C. sports betting market. GambetDC, the city’s initial attempt at a mobile sports betting app, was a dismal failure, bringing in only $4.3 million over four years—well short of the projected $84 million. In April, FanDuel replaced GambetDC, generating $1.9 million in its first 30 days alone (Yogonet).

The new budget, which allows up to seven licenses for sports betting, was supposed to create a more competitive market. However, in a letter to Council Chair Phil Mendelson, FanDuel President Christian Genetski expressed concerns about the market opening to other companies, hinting that FanDuel might terminate its contract with Intralot and operate independently under the new framework.

Statements and Reactions

Kenyan R. McDuffie, a D.C. Council member, criticized the Office of Lottery and Gaming for prematurely releasing Intralot from its sports betting responsibilities, adding to the confusion. “Once again, the Office of Lottery and Gaming has created unnecessary confusion by prematurely releasing the contractor from their responsibilities. The Mayor is reviewing the budget, and we expect this to be resolved soon,” McDuffie said in a statement to The Washington Post.

Current Status and Next Steps

As of early Wednesday morning, July 17, 2024, the situation remains unchanged. FanDuel’s brick-and-mortar sportsbook at Audi Field continues to accept wagers, but its online operations are paused. BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook have not provided timelines for when their citywide mobile betting services will commence.

The D.C. sports betting community eagerly awaits the resolution of these issues, hoping for a swift implementation of the expanded sports betting services promised by the new budget.

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Stay tuned for further updates as this situation develops.



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National Moral Monday: Prophetic Witness Outside the White House | Repairers of the Breach

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National Moral Monday: Prophetic Witness Outside the White House | Repairers of the Breach


Join us Monday, May 18, in Washington, DC and states across the nation for a Moral Monday Peace and Nonviolence Rally outside the White House.

Repairers of the Breach is organizing clergy, impacted people, faith leaders, advocates, and people of moral conscience to gather in prophetic public witness against war, systemic racism, militarism, poverty, voter suppression, environmental injustice, attacks on immigrants and LGBTQ people, and the false moral narrative of religious nationalism.

This Moral Monday action comes one day after the White House’s planned “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise, & Thanksgiving” gathering. During Monday’s action, nationally recognized clergy and moral leaders will publicly challenge the distorted theology being used to justify war, attacks on democracy, and policy violence against poor and vulnerable people.

Grounded in the prophetic traditions of justice, truth-telling, nonviolence, and solidarity with the poor, clergy leaders will preach publicly in the streets near the White House before hundreds gathered in person and thousands more joining online across more than 20 livestream and social media platforms.

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Bishop William J. Barber II, President & Senior Lecturer of Repairers of the Breach, will lead the gathering alongside nationally recognized bishops, rabbis, pastors, imams, faith organizers, impacted people, and moral advocates from across the country.

We gather because our nation continues to spend billions on war while communities struggle for healthcare, housing, education, living wages, environmental protection, and voting rights. We believe faith must never be used to sanctify destruction, injustice, or extremism.

Join us for public prayer, testimony, preaching, songs, and disciplined nonviolent moral witness.



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PSA Airlines flight from DCA evacuated after smoke seen in cabin at Kansas City airport

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PSA Airlines flight from DCA evacuated after smoke seen in cabin at Kansas City airport


Passengers on a PSA Airlines flight from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) evacuated onto a taxiway at Kansas City International Airport after the crew reported smoke in the cabin shortly after landing.

The crew of PSA Airlines Flight 5318 reported smoke in the cabin after landing at Kansas City International Airport around 3:35 p.m. local time on Friday, May 15, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The 76 passengers deplaned on the taxiway.

SEE ALSO | ‘Hit Zero’ dies after finishing opening race at Laurel Park in Maryland

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The flight, also referred to as American Eagle flight 5318, was operated on a Bombardier CRJ-900 that departed from DCA in Washington, D.C., the FAA said. There were four crew members on board, according to American Airlines.

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The FAA said the information is preliminary and subject to change, and the agency will investigate.



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250 objects for 250 years at the National Museum of American History – WTOP News

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250 objects for 250 years at the National Museum of American History – WTOP News


Where better to celebrate America’s 250th birthday and the country’s rich history than the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. A new exhibit, which opened Thursday, tells the United States’ 250-year history with 250 objects.

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250 objects for 250 years at the National Museum of American History

Where better to celebrate America’s 250th birthday and the country’s rich history than the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in D.C. A new exhibit, which opened Thursday, tells the United States’ 250-year history with 250 objects.

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Visitors will see the museum mainstays like the original American flag that inspired the “Star Spangled Banner” and the desk where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, but the new exhibit “In Pursuit of Life, Liberty & Happiness,” will also show some artifacts never before displayed.

“A surfboard that was used by Duke Kahanamoku, who is a Native Hawaiian surfer who really popularized surfing to the world. He was an Olympian and we have his massive, 9-foot surfboard that he shaped in Southern California in 1928,” said Theo Gonzalves, a curator at the National Museum of American History.

A 1928 surfboard used by Duke Kahanamoku, a Native Hawaiian surfer who popularized surfing to the world. (WTOP/Luke Lukert)

The exhibit covers the history of the nation through political action, including a sweater worn by a young woman during a school walkout during the Civil Rights Movement and a Tea Party sign from the 2010s.

It also delves into military history with the Revolutionary War’s gunboat “Philadelphia,” and a uniform worn by Gen. George Washington.

Pop culture, lifestyle and entertainment are also front and center.

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“We have a Nintendo game set and so there are folks that are looking at their at that Nintendo game set, and they’re thinking, ‘I can’t believe that that’s now part of history,’” Gonzalves said. “I’m old enough to realize what Nintendo was for our generation, but it is part of American history.”

Megan Smith, the head of experience development at the museum, said a seemingly mundane object is one of her favorite artifacts in the museum.

“Hidden in a kind of boring looking exterior, which is a file cabinet that contains over 52,000 jokes written by Phyllis Diller,” she said. “Phyllis Diller was one of the first female stand-up comedians in America. It’s just an ordinary filing cabinet, but it’s filled with her career basically, and her creative process and all of her knowledge.”

Scientific and technological achievement throughout American history is also celebrated, including the first radiocarbon dating machine from the 1950s.

Anthea Hartig, the Elizabeth MacMillan director of the museum, said staff at the museum had to whittle down nearly 2 million artifacts to 250 artifacts that define American history.

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“To take 2 million to get down to 250, and the curators did a beautiful job. The whole team did a lot of thinking about what are those objects that help show us in action as a people? Help understand the dreams that we’ve put into the declaration, how it’s expanded, who it includes,” she told WTOP.

She said the exhibit is the brainchild of over three years of curation work.

The National Museum of American History is open every day but Christmas.

“I hope people see themselves reflected in our work and in these objects,“ Hartig said.

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