Online gambling regulations going backwards in Washington DC

Council member Jack Evans is authoring a bill that would overturn the online gambling regulations. Evans believes that the council was coerced into passing the legislation, and although the bill will be repealed, that does not mean that Evans will be against discussing the issue moving forward.

"We just need to start over," said Evans, when explaining why he would be submitting the repeal bill this week. Evans and other council members are hoping that the next time the issue is addressed, that the public will have an opportunity to weigh in with their thoughts. A vote, according to several polls, would not go in favor of online gambling.

Just last year it appeared that Washington DC would be the first jurisdiction to offer online casinos to its residents. The online casino was expected to be launched last Fall, but the DC Lottery delayed the launching until they received approval from the council. On Monday, Lottery spokesmen spoke in front of the council with the hope they would sign off on the Internet gambling.

Instead, Evans started to garner support for his repeal bill. Reports have surfaced that a majority of the council members are expected to vote in favor of the repeal bill. If repealed, it would put Illinois and Nevada in line to become the first states to offer online gambling.

Nevada lawmakers passed an online gambling bill last year, with the stipulation that the federal laws must change before an online site was launched. That federal approval came in December when the Department of Justice issued an opinion that only sports betting is illegal under the Wire Act. That opened the door for states to begin the process of opening online casinos that offer poker, blackjack, craps and other games.

Evans laid the framework for any future discussions regarding online gambling in DC. The council member claims that if DC were to authorize Internet gambling, companies would have to bid on the right to offer the gambling. The current legislation calls for the DC Lottery to run the online casino in DC.