Elys and D.C.'s restaurant get license to run a sportsbook

The interactive gaming and sports betting technology company Elys Game Technology and Grand Central LLC, the independently owned operator of the Grand Central Restaurant & Bar located in the Adams Morgan area of Washington D.C., announced on Wednesday the approval of a Class B Operator license granted by the District of Columbia's Office of Lottery and Gaming (OLG). 

This license allows Grand Central to operate a sportsbook within the Grand Central Restaurant & Bar and a provisional Class B Standard Management Service Provider License to the company in conjunction with management services to be provided to Grand Central. 

According to a statement released by the company, it “is believed to be the first sportsbook of its kind to be operated within an independently owned business establishment in the U.S.”. 

The Class B license allows a full-service sportsbook with no restrictions on maximum bets to be wagered and where all winnings can be redeemed on-site. The Grand Central venue will offer sports betting alongside food and beverages

Elys will provide Grand Central with the turnkey retail betting solution on POS and kiosks hardware, as well as managed services to operate the sportsbook, including back-office and business intelligence, odds and event offerings, risk management and trading services. Meanwhile, both Elys and Grand Central will collaborate on customer-engagement campaigns, marketing and co-branding ventures. 

It is expected that wagering on sports will be offered at Grand Central in or around October 2021 with the on-premise mobile app to be launched in 2022. 

In an official press release, Grand Central owner Brian Vasile spoke about this new milestone and said: “We have been a part of the vibrant Adams Morgan neighborhood since Grand Central opened in 2007”. 

“We are looking forward to offering our customers an extraordinary experience to wager on their favorite teams while enjoying our signature dishes and beverages for lunch, dinner or gathering for team events and special games or even just dropping in to place a wager. We are very honored to have been approved as the first Class B licensed operator by the DC Office of Lottery and Gaming and believe that our establishment will serve as a showcase example for this operational model and a key role in the economic growth of this rooted residential and commercial neighborhood, as well as the greater DC area.”

Michele Ciavarella, Ely’s Executive Chairman, added: “We are absolutely thrilled to be granted our first U.S. based sports wagering license and are looking forward to launching our Elys Gameboard U.S. platform at Grand Central Restaurant & Bar, in Washington, DC. We also wish to recognise Brian Vasile, his partners and staff who worked tirelessly with our engineering team housed within our group technology subsidiary, Odissea, and our U.S. operations team to achieve this significant accomplishment”.

“For ages, sports events and championship games have been consumed and enjoyed the most in restaurants and bars, and we believe that the unique Class B classification established by the DC Office of Lottery and Gaming will pioneer an entirely new and exciting vertical where sports wagering could elevate the dining and gathering experience at bars and restaurants throughout North America. We also believe that this model could be adopted across multiple states to support local and growing businesses, and that Grand Central can become the quintessential model for operating a sportsbook within a business that is accessible by all fans of sports”, he stated.

Ciavarella continued, “With a low-cost of deployment and high scalability, our leading-edge micro-services technology is perfectly suited to operate sportsbooks in the massive network of small businesses across Canada and the U.S., and we believe small businesses could be a major contributor to local and regional economic development for years to come. The addition of US Bookmaking is expected to serve a key role in the product offering and bookmaking at Grand Central, as well as the potentially rapid expansion expected by Elys at small businesses across the country,” he concluded.

Elys is planning to process applications to offer sports wagering through its betting platform to large and small casinos and independent business venues in the U.S. and Canada representing long-term growth opportunities. The provisional Standard Management Services Provider License granted to the Company expires August 26, 2022.