And a step backwards for D.C.--- these efforts will CRAWL forward.
D.C. Council Repeals Online Gambling Law
By COMPNCARDS
Published: February 7 2012
Washington D.C.’s bid to become the first locality in the United States to legalize online gambling has officially failed. The D.C. council voted earlier today to repeal their internet gambling law by landslide vote of 10-2.
Online gambling originally was pushed through in D.C.’s lottery contract via a “non-traditional games” option in the lottery contract and then legalized in a 2010 spending bill. Prior to the vote Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) insinuated that the council did not know what they were voting on when they approved the law initially. He stated “They didn’t even use the word ‘Internet gambling,’ They used word ‘I-gambling’…We voted as a city, and decided as a city, that we didn’t want slots….It has to go through a public process. This didn’t go through a public process, but it’s slots.”
There was a late push by council member Michael A. Brown (I-At large) to save the bill, but his refusal to scrap the contract with Intralot ultimately led to its failure. The only other member of the council to vote to keep the law besides Brown was Marion Barry (D-Ward 8). He admonished the council for claiming they didn’t know what they were voting on. He said, “What kind of legislature are you? You giving the public the impression, you didn’t know what you voted for. This council already has a low approval rating… and you are telling me, you didn’t know you voted on something?”
By striking down the law, the district will lose up to $13.1 Million in projected revenue through 2015. Whether or not there is a future internet gambling in D.C. remains to be seen, but there may be more fallout from the repeal of the law. Intralot, the company whom D.C. signed a contract with, has reportedly spent $5 Million in preparations for D.C. online gambling. The company may sue the district over the repeal of the law.
There may be still hope for a future i-gaming bill. Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) stated, “I want to make sure we get the best deal for the city. I believe it should be set up, so the city gets the best price and the best revenue.” In addition, Mary Chen (D-Ward 3) thinks there may still be potential. “I believe there is a place we can try this. I just think it can be controlled.”
So unless one of the other state lotteries push through online gambling quickly, Nevada looks to be well on course to become the first state in the U.S. to offer live online gambling. As far as D.C., now things will have to be reset to square one while citizens hurry up and wait for online gambling.
AI
