Washington, D.C., lawmakers began the process of considering the legalization of online gaming in the nation’s capital on Monday.
The issue is currently being debated by the district’s Committee on Human Services. Several groups weighed in on the pros and cons of the proposal.
The Internet Gaming and Consumer Protection Act of 2026 was introduced in April by Wendell Fielder, chairman of the city’s subcommittee on local business development. He told the committee that residents of the district were already engaged in online gaming; the bill offered a way to bring them into a regulated environment.
“This is not about encouraging gambling, but recognizing reality and responding responsibly,” Felder said. “They’re already participating; they need safeguards.”
He added: “This bill is about accountability and public benefit.”
Anti-Gambling Groups Oppose Legislation
During testimony, several responsible and anti-online gaming groups spoke against the bill, arguing that potential tax revenue from the industry doesn’t make up for the social costs of additional gaming available to district residents.
Brianne Doura-Schawohl, director of the National Campaign for Fairer Gambling, said expanded gambling only brings additional problems for residents.
“D.C. doesn’t have to wait to see if harm has been proven. It has,” she said. “Leading addiction experts say that iGaming is 10 times more addictive than its other gambling counterparts, and it is illegal in 42 US states … and for good reason.”
Some city officials agreed with those assertions, including Advisory Neighborhood Commission member Bernie Horn.
“Internet casino gambling is intended to be addictive,” Horn said.
Responsible Gaming Included In Bill
When introducing the bill, Fiddler argued that residents of the district are already using unlicensed gaming platforms. He said they wagered $700 million in 2024.
Fiddler’s bill would earmark the first $500,000 in tax revenue to address gambling addiction and behavioral health concerns in the city. The proposal also spells out several responsible gaming tools that operators would need to offer, including deposit limits, loss limits, time limits, 72-hour “cooling off” periods, self-exclusion, and more.
The bill would legalize online poker and other casino games. The Office of Lottery and Gaming would regulate the industry. Operators would pay a non-refundable application fee of $2 million, with licenses renewed every five years for $500,000. The industry would be taxed at 25% of gross gaming revenue.
The remaining funds would be placed in the general fund, with 90% of those funds then divided equally among the Office of Victims Services and Justice Grants, the Department of Employment Services, and the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking.
Sweepstakes casino platforms would also be banned under the legislation. For poker, sharing poker liquidity with other markets would be allowed. With a population of just about 672,000, that would be needed to create a robust online poker market.
In related news, former Mayor Muriel Bowser pushed for legalizing live poker in D.C. over the last few years. In January, Maine became the latest state to legalize online gaming. However, one of the state’s two commercial casinos has sued the state to block the law from going into effect. The law allows only tribes to operate online casinos.
