City Council Members Object to D.C. Online Poker Bill

Washington D.C. may have to wait a little longer to start playing online poker – if they get a chance to launch the program at all. According to a report by the Washington Post, three city councilors have asked for a re-examination of the proposed online poker operation, questioning just how the online poker scheme was brought into law.

From the beginning, the method used to advance online poker regulation in the nation’s capital was considered at least slightly controversial. Rather than bring the plan forward in a bill that could be voted on, council member Michael Brown had it placed as an amendment to a supplementary spending bill that was passed near the end of 2010.

This procedure meant that there was no public discussion on the topic before the measure was put into law, a situation which has caught the ire of at least three city council members.

“It was not responsible to pass it in a supplemental budget bill without public conversation,” said Councilwoman Muriel Bowser, a Democrat from Ward 4. “It definitely was a slight of hand.”

Other questions were also raised by council members. For instance, it is felt that there were several irregularities in the lottery contract related to the deal, and several council members have expressed issues with how the inspector general behaved during the contract proceedings.

If discussion should lead to a vote on online poker in DC, it’s unclear how that vote would go. While it is clear that there are some council members who are against the online poker measure, there are many whose feelings on the subject are unknown.

Originally, the plan was to test the online poker network by allowing a number of “hotspots” in the city – bars and hotels, for instance – to allow players to connect to the site from those locations. This was set to begin sometime in the coming weeks. Assuming the test run was successful, the online poker room would become available to all D.C. residents by the beginning of 2012.