Washington, D.C.'s Committee on Human Services has scheduled a Nov. 18 markup of Council Bill 26-0656, the Internet Gaming and Consumer Protection Act of 2026. The proposal would authorize real-money online casino gambling in the District while prohibiting unlicensed sweepstakes casinos, including dual-currency and subscription-based models.
The session would be the first formal action on the measure since a May 4 public hearing, held more than six months earlier. At a markup, committee members can amend a bill and vote on whether to advance it to the full Council. The measure was introduced by Councilmember Wendell Felder on April 9 and referred to the committee on April 21.
Under the bill, the DC Office of Lottery and Gaming would regulate the internet-gaming market, with licensing, consumer-protection, responsible-gaming, reporting and enforcement requirements. Players would have to be at least 21. Operators would pay a 25% tax on gross gaming revenue, an initial $2 million licence fee good for five years, and $500,000 for each five-year renewal; PlayNJ also reported a proposed 2% local fee.
The legislation would require operators to develop Certified Business Enterprise participation plans and would establish a Community Reinvestment Fund. It would permit regulated online casino games, including poker, blackjack and roulette, through computers and mobile devices.
Its sweepstakes provisions would target unlicensed games using dual currencies such as Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins, as well as subscription-based sweepstakes products. If enacted, the lottery office could issue cease-and-desist letters, while the DC attorney general could bring cases against operators and potentially seek profits earned in the District.
The May hearing exposed sharply different views on the case for legalization. Felder and industry supporters argued that a regulated market could bring consumer safeguards and revenue into the District, rather than leaving residents to offshore and unregulated sites. Matthew Frumin cited an estimate that District residents wagered nearly $700 million on unlicensed platforms in 2024, while iDevelopment and Economic Association representative John Pappas estimated about 100,000 monthly visits to offshore gambling websites.
DraftKings representative Matt Scalf said the company had paid nearly $11 million in DC taxes and estimated the District could be missing about $500 million in revenue over five years. Representatives of DraftKings, BetMGM and Caesars supported the proposal, pointing to measures including identity verification, self-exclusion, deposit and time limits, cooling-off tools and formal complaint processes. Randy Burnside, executive director of the Office of Lottery and Gaming, said the proposal could fit the District’s existing gaming structure with appropriate rules.
Opponents challenged both the social costs and the legal basis for the measure. Les Bernal of Stop Predatory Gambling said residents could lose $400 million over five years through legalized online gambling, while the National Association Against iGaming argued that legal online casinos in the District could breach the federal Johnson Act. Bernie Horn said the Council should wait for the next mayor and Council; the sweepstakes prohibition received only a brief mention at the May hearing.
A committee print and report are typically prepared before a markup, and the committee version could differ from the bill introduced in April. If the committee advances it, the proposal would still go to the Committee of the Whole, require first- and second-reading approval by the full Council, the mayor’s signature and congressional review before it could take effect.
