A group of Washington D.C. Council members announced on Wednesday their plans to take another look at the district’s $38 million lottery contract and intent to launch the nation’s first online poker system, according to The Washington Times.
The proposals were approved without public discussion in a budget bill this past December. While online poker remains a hotly debated issue, the crux of the investigation stems from “irregularities in the underlying lottery contract and the oversight activities of Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi.”
As the lottery contract concerns are coming forth, some council members view online poker as a completely separate issue. “[Internet poker] should have been introduced as a free-standing bill; then we would have had the necessary hearings," D.C. Council member Jack Evans said. "Since that’s not what happened, we’re trying to play catch-up by holding hearings after the fact.”
The controversy has recently prompted council member Tommy Wells to seek legislation to repeal the online poker measure. Wells also cited the need for a public vetting process. Evans said there will be another hearing for online poker in September.
