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Intralot, the mobile app provider, for GambetDC, has paid $500,000 to the D.C. Lottery for an outage of service that occurred during the Super Bowl. News of the payment was made public week during a D.C. Council meeting by Lottery Executive Director Frank Suarez. The payment was provided in late March.
On Super Bowl Sunday 2022, the Android app and web browser of GambetDC were fully operational. However, the iOS app failed before the game kicked off and was not online again until the next day. The reason was due to Intralot being unable to access SSL certification in time for the game.
Compensation Provided
The D.C. Lottery and Intralot were able to come to an agreement for compensation due to the failed service and it would take just over a month for negotiations to finish up. The lottery is satisfied with the end result.
The payment covers the potential bets that were lost during the game, which totaled $65,000. An additional $6,300 was paid for a free wager promotion for frustrated iOS players and the remaining $428,700 covered marketing costs to repair damage to the lottery due to the interruption of service.
Suarez pointed out that reputational damage cannot be measured, and it is not an easy thing to give a value to. However, the lottery looked at how much they believed was lost in registrations and lifetime value and wanted to ensure they got that amount back.
Will D.C. Continue to Work with GambetDC?
With such a huge issue having taken place during a major sports betting event, it begs the question as to if the district will continue to work with GambetDC. For now, it seems the district is okay to continue its services for the lottery via the operator.
There are plans to improve the app in the future, including changing up the user interface. During the recent meeting, a council member pointed out that there have been ongoing discussions of revamping the user interface for quite some time, but it hasn’t happened yet.
According to Suarez, the ability to cash out bets is coming soon, and the user interface will be changed to include major differences, including how the app functions. Apparently, the goal is to make the app operate like a national mobile app.
Suarez reiterated that the app will look differently visually, but it will be a natural fit for sports bettors as it will look more like the type of app they are used to in states across the US.
