D.C. Online Poker Proposal Puts iGaming on the Table and Sweepstakes off It

What Washington, D.C. Online Poker Could Look Like

On April 9, Councilmember Wendell Felder, Chairperson of the Subcommittee on Local Business Development, proposed the Internet Gaming and Consumer Protection Act of 2026 (B26-0656) to the D.C. Council. In a letter to accompany the proposal, Felder argued that:

The reality is that D.C. residents already gamble online. According to Felder, they wagered approximately $700 million on unlicensed platforms in 2024 alone. As the Councilman put it:

Other US states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, have already brought online gambling under the taxable umbrella and seen an increase in revenue and profit for the state. So, why not do the same in Washington, D.C.?

What Felder and B26-0656 propose is legalizing online poker and other casino games under the Office of Lottery and Gaming (OLG), which already oversees online sports betting in the District. According to the Bill, each approved operator in D.C. would pay a non-refundable $2 million for a five-year license, with a renewal fee of $500,000. Each approved operator would also be taxed monthly at 25% of their gross gaming revenue.

While these numbers are steep for a relatively small potential market, they’ve been put in place to favor serious contenders like FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM, which already host legal online sports betting platforms within the District.

D.C. Online Poker From the Players’ Perspective

While the taxation part is an important point to break down, it’s also not the one most relevant for D.C. residents. For them, a much more important question is how legal online poker would look like for them. Here’s a short overview:

• Players must be 21 or over for all online casino play.
• Both age and identity must be verified by the operator before completing the registration process.
• Each operator must offer a clear range of responsible gambling tools (loss limits, session time limits, self-exclusion, and cool-off periods).

A Sweepstakes Casino Ban Across D.C.

Following a trend that began with California earlier this year, B26-0656 also proposes a complete ban of sweepstakes casino within the District of Columbia. According to the current wording of the bill, operators who would continue to run sweepstakes platforms without a valid license would be guilty commit a civil violation. The Office of Lottery and Gaming would then be allowed to issue cease-and-desist orders to these operators.

Of course, this is all still very far from a home run. As we mentioned, a public hearing on B26-0656 has been set two weeks from today, May 4. If the Bill passes that hurdle, it goes to Mayor Muriel Bowser for signing and then to Congress for a 60-day review period. For now, it’s on the table and we’ll be updating you soon.