Photo by Images_of_Money.Was all the hubbub about the District’s intranet gaming plan a lot of hot air? That’s the impression one might get after reading this report in the Washington Times, in which representatives from the D.C. Lottery say that most people they spoke with during a series of town halls on the matter were “supportive,” leading officials to believe that the system is good to go as is.
D.C. Lottery officials do not plan to change the essential components of their controversial online gambling plan after holding nine community meetings to hear concerns and dispel myths about the program.
The lottery is using an audio recording of the meetings to form a summary for council member Jack Evans, Ward 2 Democrat, who is expected to schedule a hearing on the program — known as iGaming — alongside a bill to repeal the program altogether.
“I think the substantial majority of people who attended and spoke were supportive,” lottery Director Buddy Roogow said, acknowledging there was dissension about how revenue from iGaming should be used and some outright opposition to online gambling.
The iGaming system would feature four games (Texas Hold ’em Poker, Blackjack, Bingo and e-Scratch), would be limited to people physically within the District and would include a $250 weekly wager cap and deposit limits that would restrict how much any one user could gamble or lose. i-Gaming terminals would not be installed in schools, libraries, recreation centers or D.C. government buildings. The program is expected to generate $13 million in revenue in its first three years.
Obviously, gambling is a hot topic which will always bring out a motivated, if concentrated, opposition anywhere it is proposed — but it appears that most of the ire with the i-Gaming system still sits with the manner in which it was proposed (which was a major sticking point of the Lottery’s Ward 5 town hall meeting), and what, exactly, the money pulled in from the program will be spent on.
Councilmember Michael Brown (I-At-Large) is at the crux of both. Brown has come under fire for claims that he “snuck” the gaming proposal into the budget without a public hearing, claims he refutes. Brown also has said in public forums that the money generated from the gaming could be used to on educational and social services. Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells, who attempted to repeal the program in September, and it appears likely that he will try to repeal it again when it next comes before the Council.
The i-Gaming proposal likely will not be acted upon by the Council until the new year.
