A judge has extended the restraining order that effectively puts a hold on mobile sports betting in the District. The move comes amid a lawsuit challenging a no-bid contract for developing a sports betting app.
The restraining order blocks D.C. from issuing its first payment to the sports betting company Intralot as part of a $215 million contract approved by the D.C. Council in July.
D.C. Superior Judge John Campbell’s ruling Tuesday extends the temporary restraining order until Oct. 28. However, a status hearing, which could alter the timeline, is scheduled for Oct. 18.
Last week, another D.C. Superior Court judge issued the first legal pause on the contract, siding with D.C. resident Dylan Carragher. He had filed suit against the city, claiming the Intralot contract was illegal because the District failed to follow procurement laws for competitive bidding.
Carragher had also created a mobile app for sports betting and had wanted to be considered as part of the market for sports wagering in D.C.
In a response filed Monday ahead of the judge’s ruling, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine’s office said the D.C. Council has “broad legislative authority” under the Home Rule Act to change procurement laws “as it sees fit to,” and that includes awarding a noncompetitive contract.
In addition, the attorney general’s filing argued Carragher was unable to show he had been harmed by the no-bid contract, because he hadn’t demonstrated his app would have met the contract requirements.
Racine’s filing went on to say blocking the current contract “will cause the District to lose millions of dollars in revenue.”
Intralot, a Greek company, already holds a contract with the District to operate the D.C. Lottery.
WTOP’s Rick Massimo and Dick Uliano contributed to this report.
