As quickly as it arrived, online gambling in the District appears on its way out — at least for now.
A majority — three of the five members — of the D.C. Council’s Committee on Finance and Revenue have told The Washington Examiner that they plan to vote for the repeal during a committee markup session scheduled for Wednesday.
“It’s clear to me that the council, and more importantly the public, had not had an opportunity to comment on i-gaming … before the council voted on it,” said Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans, who chairs the committee. “The council themselves really didn’t have all the information necessary.”
At-large Councilman David Catania, who last week called for the resignation of the city’s chief financial officer because of his role in i-gaming, also plans to vote for a repeal. He said the lottery contract was changed too substantially when it was altered to include Internet gambling after the council approved a contract with a “nontraditional” gaming provision.
“Repeal is necessary due to a terrifically flawed process,” Catania said.
Ward 4 Councilwoman Muriel Bowser also plans to vote for the repeal, according to her staff.
But at-large Councilman Michael Brown, who was responsible for the passage of Internet gambling, said he will reintroduce i-gaming if a repeal is successful. Brown, also a finance committee member, said the public had a chance to comment on legalizing gambling last summer. The D.C. Lottery has not yet started any online games.
