The Washington D.C. city councilman who introduced a sports betting bill for the district said he is optimistic that sports betting could begin by spring of next year.
“If everything falls into place, sports betting will be live by baseball’s opening day next year,” D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans said in an interview with Legal Sports Report. “Here’s how I see it. We have a hearing on October 17 and if all goes well, the bill will be out of committee by the end of the month,”
City council’s Committee on Finance and Revenue will hold a public hearing October 17 to discuss the “Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act of 2018,” which was by Evans in September.
Sports betting has been legalized in Delaware and West Virginia, but so far Maryland and Virginia have not moved forward on potential sports betting bills in those nearby markets.
The D.C. sports betting bill must pass both a vote from the finance committee and another from the full 13-member council. Any bill passed by the council and signed by the mayor must go to Congress for a 30-day review. If turned down by Congress, the bill would die unless the disapproval is vetoed by President Trump.
Under the bill, sports betting would be regulated the D.C. Office of Lottery and Gaming, which is overseen by a chief financial officer. Licenses would cost $50,000 and operators will pay a ten percent tax on gross sports betting revenue. Revenue will go to fund early childhood development, and arts and humanities programs.
The bill allows for both on-site and online sports betting. Evans said hotels and sports arenas could be potential sites for sports betting operations.
“Hotels are a market that we want to tap into,” Evans said. “The goal is to establish a model bill for the rest of the country to use.”
