The federal government is fining Washington, D.C., $4.4 million due to what it considers a higher-than-acceptable error rate in its payments to recipients of food assistance programs. 

It is the second year in a row that district officials have exceeded the error rate in processing benefits in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The Department of Agriculture found that in 20% of cases, the district either overpaid or underpaid SNAP recipients. 

The USDA only issues a penalty if the payment error rate exceeds 6% two years in a row.

Roughly 140,000 district families rely on SNAP benefits in order to make ends meet. Instances where an error occurs can have a severe impact on families as it can take months to correct them. Typically, the district’s Department of Human Services won’t even pick up on the errors as it falls on the families to bring it to the officials’ attention.

“Even when these errors are corrected, potentially months later, the impacted recipients and their families are not made whole,” Haley Hoff, an attorney with Legal D.C. advocating families who rely on SNAP, told the Washington Post. “District residents go hungry when [the D.C. Access System] prevents them from obtaining their full SNAP entitlement.”

Laura Zeilinger, director of the district’s Department of Human Services, and Wayne Turnage, deputy mayor of health and human services, attended a city council hearing to address concerns regarding the high payment error rates. The D.C. Access System — which is in control of administering SNAP benefits, the Temporary Assistance For Needy Families program, and about 300,000 Medicaid enrollees — is tremendously stressed, according to Turnage. It has reportedly cost taxpayers $600 million to develop and maintain the D.C. Access System.

Turnage said the staff managing the system have struggled to keep up with its high demands, and the have had to work overtime and weekend shifts. Since 2022, Washington, D.C., has the slowest processing rate for SNAP applications in the nation.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

USDA is allowing the district a few options in dealing with the fine. The agency would allow the city to reinvest half of the penalty in making improvements in the SNAP system.  

Turnage said that the department is working to identify the core problems within the SNAP system.

FanDuel‘s strong May numbers in its first full month as the D.C. Lottery’s primary sports betting operator fueled a record-setting month as the rest of the district’s operator figures were released Monday.

Overall, the nation’s capital reported all-time highs of $5.4 million in sports betting revenue and $35.4 million in handle. It was the second consecutive month with a record handle after FanDuel made an immediate impact on April’s numbers when it replaced GambetDC as the district’s primary operator.

May’s operator revenue was over $1 million more than the previous high of $4.4 million set in November 2021.

The 15.4% hold ranked 14th in 49 months of wagering in Washington D.C. It’s currently the highest among 29 states and jurisdictions with commercial sports betting for May, with only Arizona, Illinois, and Kentucky yet to report.

The district saw an all-time monthly high of $544,600 in tax receipts, and FanDuel’s entrance has put the year-to-date total of $1.4 million in tax revenue $513,300 ahead of the 2023 total through five months.

BetMGM Also Enjoys Strong May

FanDuel accounted for 84% of the district’s handle and 89% of the revenue, as it posted a 16.4% hold on $29.7 million in handle to reap $4.9 million in winnings. Both figures would have ranked first in all-time Washington D.C. monthly totals.

Despite finishing third in handle with $1.6 million, BetMGM pipped second in revenue among all operators with $217,400, posting a 13.9% win rate from wagers placed at and around Nationals Park.

Caesars, which operates at Capital One Arena, had a more modest 5.4% hold as it collected $145,800 in winnings from $2.7 million worth of wagers. FanDuel’s retail sportsbook at Audi Field — home of DC United — had a 5.3% hold on $284,000 in bets placed for $15,100 in revenue.

Among Class B licensees, both of Grand Central’s locations finished in the red as bettors came out a combined $5,775 ahead on $192,400 in handle. Sports & Social had an astounding 49.2% hold in keeping $15,700 ahead of the $32,000 wagered, while the Cloakroom topped $10,000 in revenue for the year after winning $2,600 and posting a 26.2% hold on $9,800 in handle.

Despite the recent upswing in betting fortunes across the district with FanDuel’s entrance, bigger changes still are likely to come. The Washington D.C. Council included the Sports Wagering Amendment Act of 2024 in its Fiscal Year 2025 budget, which would allow numerous sports betting apps to operate in the district.

FanDuel’s entrance came by way of being subcontracted through Intralot, whose performance in the sports betting space was widely derided and criticized by both the betting public and local legislators in the district.