{"id":88497,"date":"2018-09-19T09:40:48","date_gmt":"2018-09-19T16:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=88497"},"modified":"2018-09-19T09:40:48","modified_gmt":"2018-09-19T16:40:48","slug":"washington-dc-moves-to-legalize-sports-betting-despite-no-casinos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-dc-moves-to-legalize-sports-betting-despite-no-casinos\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington, DC Moves to Legalize Sports Betting, Despite No Casinos"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington, DC sports betting could soon be coming to the nation\u2019s capital. While a handful of Congressmen are mulling federal regulation<\/a>\u00a0on Capitol Hill, District of Columbia Councilman\u00a0Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) wants to regulate it on a local level so the district\u2019s coffers can capitalize on this newly liberalized form of gambling.<\/p>\n

\"D.C.
Washington, DC Councilman\u00a0Jack Evans believes the city \u201ccan be the first,\u201d even though casinos in nearby West Virginia are already offering sports betting and at least one is heavily targeting DC area residents. (Image: Bill O\u2019Leary\/The Washington Post)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So far, states that have legalized sports betting have done so to bolster their land-based casino business, but the capital city has none. Instead, Evans\u2019 bill will authorize the DC Lottery to offer online and in-person wagering.<\/p>\n

Evans introduced the Sports Wagering and Lottery Amendment Act to the DC council on Tuesday. Its text has not yet been published, so it\u2019s unclear exactly what \u201cin-person wagering\u201d would look like, or whether betting kiosks will be set up in downtown Washington.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Backing the Bill<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Nevertheless, the bill is being backed by some heavy hitters in DC local government. Evans himself is longest-serving council member and he has the support of the majority of his colleagues, including Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can be first and get a lot of money or 51st and not get any,\u201d said Evans at a council breakfast before presenting his legislation, according to\u00a0The Washington Post.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

With a dearth of opportunities in the capital, residents who like to gamble head to casinos in nearby states — to the Hollywood casino in Charles Town, West Virginia, or the MGM National Harbor, in<\/span> Maryland, whose location was chosen by MGM Resorts largely because of its proximity to DC. But the National Harbor can’t yet offer sports betting, as it’s not been legalized in the Old Line state yet and is not expected to do so until at least 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Since the Hollywood casino already offers sports betting — it became the first in West Virginia<\/a> to do so last month — Evans\u2019 claim that his city can \u201cbe the first\u201d is not true, but it can at least beat Maryland and Virginia to the punch.<\/p>\n

Not the Only Game in Town<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Evans says he was inspired to act on sports betting after reading in the Washington Post<\/em> in August that the general manager of the Hollywood casino was heavily targeting the capital because he had the advantage of being \u201cthe only game in town.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, we take the first steps towards capturing this exciting new stream of revenue, instead of watching District resident dollars fill the coffers of other jurisdictions,\u201d <\/span><\/strong>said Evans in an official statement.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe District of Columbia will be the leader in a fast-growing industry,\u201d he said. \u201cThe city should take advantage of our ability to act before the Maryland or Virginia legislatures to create a thriving sports betting market, which will attract consumers to the District and generate revenue for District residents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evans\u2019 bill would tax sports betting at 10 percent, with a portion of proceeds going to fund a recently established childhood-wellness program in the city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington, DC sports betting could soon be coming to the nation\u2019s capital. While a handful of Congressmen are mulling federal regulation\u00a0on Capitol Hill, District of Columbia Councilman\u00a0Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) wants to regulate it on a local level so the district\u2019s coffers can capitalize on this newly liberalized form of gambling. So far, states that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":88500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,61,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWashington, DC Moves to Legalize Sports Betting, Despite No Casinos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A District of Columbia sports betting bill has introduced that will authorize the Washington, DC Lottery to offer wagering on sports games, despite the district having no casinos.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Washington, DC Moves to Legalize Sports Betting, Despite No Casinos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A District of Columbia sports betting bill has introduced that will authorize the Washington, DC Lottery to offer wagering on sports games, despite the district having no casinos.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-dc-moves-to-legalize-sports-betting-despite-no-casinos\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-09-19T16:40:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/evans.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1484\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1027\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-dc-moves-to-legalize-sports-betting-despite-no-casinos\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-dc-moves-to-legalize-sports-betting-despite-no-casinos\/\",\"name\":\"Washington, DC Moves to Legalize Sports Betting, Despite No Casinos\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-dc-moves-to-legalize-sports-betting-despite-no-casinos\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-dc-moves-to-legalize-sports-betting-despite-no-casinos\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/evans.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-09-19T16:40:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-09-19T16:40:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"A District of Columbia sports betting bill has introduced that will authorize the Washington, DC Lottery to offer wagering on sports games, despite the district having no casinos.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-dc-moves-to-legalize-sports-betting-despite-no-casinos\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-dc-moves-to-legalize-sports-betting-despite-no-casinos\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-dc-moves-to-legalize-sports-betting-despite-no-casinos\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/evans.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/evans.jpg\",\"width\":1484,\"height\":1027,\"caption\":\"Can-do Attitude: D.C. 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