Online Gambling in DC has to wait until Public Consultations are over

The long-fought battle to change American gambling laws to allow online gambling in Washington DC continues. Main opposition force, Councilman Jack Evans, conceded some of his hard-line position, saying he cannot repel the legalization altogether until the public consultations on the matter are over.

According to media, results of those consultations may be quite surprising. Recent snap polls suggest 85 percent of DC population approve the changes in legislation that will open up legal online poker sites in United States. Just 14 percent of the poll participants said “No” and others were undecided or not interested.

Currently the regulation is in consultative phase, which involves public discussions, organized by the DC Lottery all over the city. Following this phase, Evans is expected to consider the issue in detail during a further hearing on the matter as chairman of the council’s Committee on Finance and Revenue.

Earlier this week other councilors, Tommy Wells and Phil Mendelson, introduced a bill to repeal the part of the proposal to introduce online gambling. Council member David Catania stated he will support this bill.

Tommy Wells told United States gambling news: “This legislation will allow us, the public, to have the conversation that we didn’t have last year, and give us the chance to weigh the pros and cons in full daylight before making a decision about whether or not this makes sense for the residents of the District of Columbia.”

Last year, Michael Brown, the independent councilor, managed to take the online gaming law through the council as part of a supplementary budget bill. Currently he remains a strong proponent of the legalization, defending his stand in a letter to other councilors.

He continues to promote the changes as a “win-win” way to acquire the much needed tax revenue, while regulating popular American activity, which currently goes on unregulated at foreign based online sites.