DC Should Legalise Online Poker With New Sports Betting Bill

Washington DC is one of the many states that is looking to pass new legislation that will regulate sports betting in the capital.

After the Supreme Court repealed PASPA 1992, 5 states have gone on to legalized sports betting and a further 15 states are debating new sports betting legislation.

Councilman Jack Evans introduced a sports betting bill in Washington DC and the bill has received a lot of support from other legislators as well. Evans says that he expects as many as 40 states to legalize sports betting in the coming months and he wants Washington DC to be ahead of the pack.

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Before the Supreme Court could rule on PASPA 1992, casino operators were campaigning for the legalization of online poker. When PASPA 1992 was repealed in May, online poker took a back seat as the focus went to sports betting which has a much bigger market. Most states have dropped the ball on online poker and are currently focusing only on sports betting legislation.

The iDevelopment and Economic Association (iDEA) is an association that is campaigning for growth via licensed online gambling activities. Attorney Jeff Ifrah who founded iDEA believes that it would be a better option for DC legislators to combine online poker legalization with sports betting legalization and get both approved at one go.

In a statement, Ifrah said

Internet and mobile gaming, including poker and casino games, are great opportunities for DC to expand the size of the betting pool and add additional revenue.

DC Could Join Shared Liquidity Program

Ifrah was present during a public hearing and voiced his approval of getting both sports betting and online poker approved as it would bring in multiple streams of revenue for the state and boost its budget. Should DC decide to regulate online poker, it is quite likely that the state would opt for inter-state liquidity and join forces with Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware.

It would have been great for online poker if Jeff Ifrah had more support for the online poker community. The Poker Alliance which has a reputation for being one of the main campaigners for online poker legislation did not have any representation during the public
hearing.

Councilman Evans does not want to waste any time and is pushing for his sports betting bill to be approved before January 2019, before neighbouring Maryland and Virginia can move forward with their respective sports betting legislation.