Redskins To Follow Sports Betting?

Yeah, for those of us that aren’t updated on their history, the Washington Redskins football team actually started in New England as the Boston Braves in 1932, and then changed their name to the Boston Redskins and played up north for a short stint (1933-1936). 

But in 1937 the team moves to Washington D.C. and shared the baseball Griffith Stadium with the Washington Senators baseball team.  Fast forward 80 years plus, and although the Redskins have been the NFL team of the Washington D.C. metropolitan area forever almost, the team’s FedExField home grounds is in Landover Maryland, Headquarters in Ashbum Virginia and the training facilities in Richmond, Virginia.

So actually since leaving the Nation Capital’s RFK Stadium in 1996, the Washington Redskins have been playing, training and managed at surrounding states.  This may change, or not, again in the near future, and it now depends also on the options that each jurisdiction will give the skins to operate legal sports betting on its grounds.

The legalization of sports betting that is sweeping the US by storm, many states have already legalized and regulated safe and secure sports betting, whilst many other states are in the final process of legislation.  So looking at the options: Washington D.C. legalized sports betting in December of last year already.  Virginia passed its own bill two weeks ago and it noes goes on to the governor, and joining the race this past week, Maryland Senate also passed legislation of sports betting unanimously in a vote of 47-0.

Following these developments closely, Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, and other Washington Redskins team officials have been lobbying for quite some time now to secure for the team a legal sports-betting license.  So now, the Redskins have a few options to choose from, which will be the best?

Maryland will allow the Washington Redskins to operate sports betting (should the law pass in the House), if it builds a stadium in Prince George’s Country.  The license would cost $2.5 million, the tax set at 20%, and the regulator will be the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency.

Virginia would possibly already allow the Redskins to obtain and operate a sports-betting license (again, pending the law passing), as the bill in Virginia will consider the skins Ashbum headquarters in the state as a qualifying facility for a license.  The license will cost an initial fee of $250,000, and a $200,000 yearly renewal fee.  Tax will be set at 15%, and it will be under the Virginia Lottery as the governing body.

Washington D.C. presents a bit of a complicated scenario.  The bill lists specific qualified venues such as NBA’s Washington Wizards’ Capital One Arena, MLS’s D.C. United’s Audi Field, and a few more.  There was initially a provision for a potential location for the Redskins, but it was taken out before the final law passed.  So in case the Washington Redskins will look into the D.C. option, a facility will need to be reintroduced into the law somehow.  The application fee is $250,000, with a $200,000 renewal fee.  The tax rate is 10%, and the D.C. Office of Lottery and Gaming is the regulating body.