Opposition to DC Online Gambling
As Washington, D.C. prepares to implement the first online gambling regulations in the United States, there has been a lot of backlash. That could have easily been predicted, since gambling has always been a controversial issue. Some of the criticism has been valid while some has not.
A recent editorial by the Washington Post said that the District of Columbia should take the opportunity given by the current delay to repeal the legislation creating the online ambling regulation. The staff editorial board argues that because the process that led to the passage of the law was “tainted,” the entire plan should be scrapped so the council can start over with a more transparent process.
Though we support the regulation, the WaPo editors have some good points. The controversy surrounding how the law was passed is legitimate. The district council never debated the online gambling bill. They did not hold a public hearing on it, either, so they could get the public’s opinion. Instead, it was slipped into a supplemental budget bill without debate. Some in the council didn’t even know it was there. Once councilman, Tommy Wells, now says it should be repealed (maybe he should have read the bill).
Another problem is the sponsor of the bill, Michael Brown. Councilman Brown slipped the online gambling regulation into the bill somewhat secretively. Was that because he didn’t think it would pass otherwise? Or was it because he didn’t want his connection to the industry to derail his plans? It has since come out that Brown used to be employed by a firm that would profit from the regulation. According to WaPo, this is reason enough to repeal the law and start over. What are your thoughts?
