Written by Sadonna | Thursday, April 14th, 2011

With the recent news breaking that the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.) will be the first jurisdiction in the United States to offer online gambling, many in the industry are hoping that this will open up online gambling to the rest of the nation. The new bill that will allow online gambling in the city was created to raise the much needed funds for the city’s budget. The District of Columbia has surpassed other cities like New Jersey and Nevada who have tried to pass similar legislation.

Michael A. Brown, a member of the D.C. Council, stated that Congress had a thirty-day time period to object the new bill but that time period has expired without opposition. Brown was the creator of the provision and it has been stated that the online gambling offerings would be operated by Intralot,  a gaming company based in Greece.

According to the Associated Press, the gambling options would only be available to players who live within the borders of the district. Officials have not stated when the options will be available but lottery officials in DC have been talking to their vendor and they should have more information in the near future.

Online gambling has been difficult for US citizens since the passing of the UIGEA in 2006 which bans banks and credit card companies from processing any payments that would go from online gambling companies to players. However the law has grey areas that allow states to work around it and offer online gambling options.

Brown commented that there is no clear law that says they could not pass the measure to allow online gambling in DC. Brown also stated that the District is hoping to earn the revenues that have been going to companies outside the state as well as other countries. The online gambling business produces millions each year and the money that would come in to DC will be used to offset cuts in the budget as well as used for social services programs.

It has been estimated that the District will earn $13 million to $14 million from now until the fiscal year 2014.

“Anytime you’re cutting budgets and you want to save some programs, you’re looking for different pieces from different pots and you hope that you get to the number that restores those budget shortfalls and that’s what we’re trying to do with this,” Brown said.

DC will be able to offer both games of skill as well as chance so gamblers are definitely happy to see this legislation passed. Players had hope in the pass as New Jersey, Hawaii and a couple other states tried to pass similar legislation but all were stopped at some point. It was beginning to look like no legislation would be passed but now things are looking up.

Hopefully the changes in DC will clear a path for other states to allow online gambling. It may be some time before we see other states add legislation as they will most likely want to see what will happen in DC with players as well as revenues. However, states such as Nevada and New Jersey, already the casino capitals of the US, may step in and create their own legislation to be at the forefront of online gambling as well. Only time will tell what is going to happen so we will just have to sit back and see what happens.

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