After more than a year of debate, the District of Columbia’s City Council has decided to repeal legislation legalizing internet gambling. On Tuesday, the full City Council met for discussion of the issue, which was passed in 2010 after council member Michael Brown (I-At Large) tacked on language authorizing the regulation and taxation of internet gambling to a supplemental budget measure. Read more in the Washington Post.Since that measure’s passage, several council members voiced their concerns over what was, at that time, the first law passed that would allow for intrastate online poker. Those concerns, as well as the voices of advocates, came to a head during Tuesday’s meeting.
Leading the charge for the repeal of the measure was council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), who had mentioned in an article in the Washington Post last week that “there [was] no rush to get [online gaming] done.” During the council meeting on Tuesday, Evans took that statement one step further, stating, “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.”
Many of the members of the D.C. City Council felt that they had been duped into passing the law back in 2010, saying that they “weren’t aware” of what they were voting on when the measure previously came before them. “They didn’t even use the word ‘internet gambling,’” council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), another advocate of repealing the online poker law, said during the hearing. “They used the word ‘i-gambling.’ It has to go through a public process, and [this] didn’t.”
Former D.C. mayor and current Ward 8 council member Marion Barry, who supported Brown’s efforts in getting the internet gambling law passed, spoke out against his colleagues: “What kind of legislature are you?” he asked. “You’re giving the public the impression [that] you didn’t know what you voted for.”
One of the key issues in the debate was the contract with Intralot, the Greek gaming outlet that would have been providing the software for the D.C. internet gambling system. That contract, which would have given 51% of the profits to the Greek company, was questioned by many of the opponents of the law. As a last-ditch measure to save online poker in D.C., Brown offered to cancel the contract with Intralot and open up the process of bidding.The yearlong debate ended with the Council voting to repeal the measure by a 10-2 majority. Only Brown and Barry voted against repeal.
With the repeal of internet gambling in the District of Columbia, financial difficulties could now be in store. Although the City Council had not spent any money on the proposed online poker operation, Intralot had put in approximately $5 million of development. Intralot could now sue the District of Columbia to recoup its costs.
Furthermore, there is the question of replacing the money that the proposed internet gambling operation would have brought in. The budget was written counting the approximately $13 million that an internet gambling operation would have brought in; council members now have to figure out how to make up that lack of revenue.
Brown (pictured, image courtesy Washington Post) was disappointed in his fellow council members following the repeal, stating, “This was going to be our thing, our laws, governed by us. We were going to reap the benefits from tourists, from residents.” He also stated that it was more likely now that Federal legislation would take precedence.Although the repeal of online poker in the District of Columbia has occurred, there is still a possibility that the subject could come up in the near future. Many council members, including Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), said they would like to start from scratch on the issue. “I believe there is a place we can try this,” Cheh stated. “I just think it can be controlled [better].”
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