While it’s not a state, Washington D.C. Has many of the same rights that US states enjoy. One of these, now that the federal PASPA sports betting ban has been overturned by the US Supreme Court (in Washington D.C., no less!), is the ability to legalize Washington D.C. Online sportsbooks. Legal Status of Online Casinos & Gambling — Washington DC Currently, there are no local laws that make it illegal for residents of the District of Columbia to gamble online. Though there is no established intra-regional online casino network, there are hundreds of online casinos offering their services to Washington DC residents. If anything, it is more likely that legal sports betting won’t launch in Washington until early 2021. Issue With Legal Sports Betting and Washington Tribes. There are currently 29 federally-recognized tribal casinos in the state of Washington.

• Is Online Betting Legal In Washington Dc
• Is Online Gambling Legal In Washington Dc Today
• Is Online Gambling Legal In Washington Dc 2019

On Tuesday afternoon, lawmakers in the District of Columbia passed a bill that legalizes sports betting within its boundaries.

The Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act of 2018 rewrites the DC books to permit both retail and online/mobile sports gambling. The DC sports betting bill is subject to Congressional review, but an emergency measure also passed separately to allow for preparations in the interim.

The signature of Mayor Muriel Bowser is now the last immediate hurdle remaining, and she is not expected to veto the bill.

Lawmakers pass DC sports betting bill

The relevant bill (B 22-944) came up for its hearing midafternoon, with the sponsor presenting his proposal.

“We’re venturing into new territory with sports gaming,” Councilmember Jack Evans said. “I’m very excited that the District will be out of the box if this passes today.” He reiterated his desire to beat surrounding states Virginia and Maryland into the market.

Proceedings in the chamber were complicated slightly by the addition of three amendments, two of which did not appear critical to passage. One was important to operators, though: a proposal to leave data requirements to regulatory rules rather than burn them into the law’s language. The third (and seemingly most pivotal) amendment centered around the inclusion of disadvantaged and minority-owned businesses.

Although it passed, support for DC sports betting was not unanimous. Councilmember David Grasso provided the primary voice of opposition, citing concerns about problem gambling and mental health. In the end, the vote tally was 11-2.

The emergency bill now moves to the mayor for approval, while the permanent bill will go to US Congress for a 60-day review.

What will DC sports betting look like?

At its roots, DC sports betting will follow a lottery-operated framework similar to Delaware sports betting. The existing agency (District of Columbia Lottery and Charitable Games Control Board) will be rebranded as the new Office of Lottery and Gaming and charged with regulating and administering the industry.

In practice, though, the District’s product will look nothing like the ones in Delaware or Rhode Island (or any other state’s so far.)

As passed, the bill authorizes both land-based and online/mobile sports betting, which sets it off on a firm footing. A reasonable tax rate of 10 percent on revenue also suggests an effort to foster a competitive marketplace. Ten percent is on the lower end of the scale among states with legal sports betting — particularly lottery-based states.

The bill does not exclude betting on any particular sport or league, so regulations will determine those specifics. Folks directly involved in sports; however, like athletes and coaches, are not permitted to wager on their own league.

Mobile betting will primarily be offered through the lottery’s platform, powered by Intralot. There are, however, some apparent exceptions.

Class A licensees

In addition to District-wide mobile betting, the law authorizes retail sportsbooks inside four sports venues:

• Capital One Arena
• Audi Field
• Nationals Park
• St. Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports Arena

These “designated facilities” are the only ones allowed to obtain Class A licenses.

Is Online Betting Legal In Washington Dc

Capital One Arena is home to the local NBA and NHL franchises, and the hometown MLB team plays its games at Nationals Park. The two other facilities host smaller professional leagues — MLS at Audi Field and WNBA at St. Elizabeths East. Interestingly, language that would have included the aging RFK Stadium in the above list was stricken.

The current language is somewhat vague, but each appears to be permitted to offer on-site mobile betting using either in-house or third-party platforms. That language reads like Mississippi‘s version of mobile: on-site only.

Each will enjoy a two-block exclusivity zone, inside of which no competition is allowed. These licenses cost $250,000 apiece and are valid for five years.

This provision should be especially enticing for local mogul Ted Leonsis, who owns the two pro teams that play at Capital One. In recent months, Leonsis has become a vocal proponent of bringing sports and gambling together inside arenas and stadiums.

Class B licensees and retail

Outside those zones, other establishments may apply to offer wagering as Class B licensees. They receive the same options as Class A facilities, minus the two-block exclusivity.

Class B sports betting licenses are also valid for five years, but they come at a discounted cost of $50,000. More limited two-year retail licenses cost $5,000 apiece.

Incidentally, the District occupies 68 square miles of terrain — or around 7,000 total blocks.

How did DC sports betting come to pass?

The idea of DC sports betting first appeared publicly in mid-September when Evans indicated he would present his proposal to the Council.

Things happened quickly in the months since. Here’s the timeline from start to finish:

• Sep. 18: Evans publishes a press release indicating he has filed a sports betting bill (B 22-944).
• Oct. 2: The sponsor offers additional details, expressing openness to in-arena betting and integrity fees.
• Oct. 17: About 15 stakeholders testify during a public hearing, each working to shape the final version of the bill.

Pretty standard stuff so far. But then things started to get interesting:

• Nov. 27: The night before the bill’s first committee hearing, Evans proposes amendments that include payment of an integrity fee to sports leagues. His goal is to trade those fees for the use of official league data.
• Nov. 28: Nobody supports the proposal. The committee pushes back hard on the royalty fee, removing that section before advancing the bill to the full Council.
• Dec. 3: In what would have been an unthinkable union a few months ago, leagues and operators team up to lobby for a new “license fee” akin to the royalty/integrity fee. They make no provision for data usage in exchange.
• Dec. 3: That lobbying alliance unites to push back against a proposed single-operator model administered by Intralot. A document obtained by LSR reveals that Intralot is wildly exaggerating its revenue projections, and reporting from District Dig raises questions about Evans’ motives.
• Dec. 4: Evans’ bill advances through its first reading by a 10-2 vote. The single-operator model sticks.

And on Dec. 18, the bill passes, barring any pushback from the mayor or Congress.

Washington State is something of a special case when it comes to online poker in the United States. Poker players in Washington have to contend with a legal state of affairs that is both quite restrictive and completely unique.

We’ll discuss that state of affairs, along with the likely future of online poker in Washington, in this Guide to Online Poker in Washington State.

Latest Washington Online Poker Updates

Washington is one of the few states in America that specifically calls out online poker as a crime. Worse, it designates the activity as a felony.

In 2006, then-State Senator Margarita Prentice sponsored a bill to make online poker a felony with a $10K fine or five-year prison sentence as the penalty. While most states threatened to penalize online gambling operators, Prentice wanted Washington to punish players. She got her wish that June when then-Governor Christine Gregoire signed the bill into law. Online poker became a Class C felony.

A Seattle attorney named Lee Rousso sued the state in 2008 over the right to play poker online. Despite numerous appeals and support from the then-influential Poker Players Alliance, the case was eventually rejected by the Washington State Supreme Court in 2010.

In the years that followed, there was talk of new bills to overturn the online poker law, but they never progressed through the legislature. There was little support to address the issue, especially after the State Supreme Court ruling.

Showing the propensity of Washington for overreacting to online gambling, other court cases have put free-play online gaming in the spotlight. Big Fish, an online casino game developer based in Seattle and operating since 2002, is fighting players in court who declare that the option to buy play-money chips in Big Fish’s online games violate the state laws.

Big Fish lost one of the cases in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2016, essentially ruling that even free-play online games were illegal for players in that state. That decision even prompted PokerStars to withdraw its free online poker website from Washington players.

Lawmakers made an attempt in 2019 to address sports betting, but the tribal entities that operate the state’s casinos and pushed for the anti-online poker law also expressed opposition to sports betting. So far, there has been no progress beyond discussions and the occasional hearing.

Is Online Poker Legal in Washington?

While all online poker players should be familiar with their state laws with regards to gambling, Washington State online poker players have a special motivation for learning more about the law as Washington is one of the few states that specifically singles out online gambling.

Let’s talk more about that aspect of, and a handful of other important points from, Washington State gambling law:

Let’s start off by exploring how Washington State defines the act of gambling. There are a few components to the definition, the first of which is found in Section 9.46.0237:

“”Gambling,” as used in this chapter, means staking or risking something of value upon the outcome of a contest of chance or a future contingent event not under the person’s control or influence, upon an agreement or understanding that the person or someone else will receive something of value in the event of a certain outcome.”

That’s basically a boilerplate definition of gambling, and it’s extended by Washington’s definition of “contest of chance” found in Section 9.46.0237. Basically, if chance plays a “material” role in the outcome of an event, then that event is a contest of chance regardless of whether or not there is also a skill component.

A number of activities are given a pass from Washington State gambling laws. Regulated forms of gambling are exempt, as are various forms of charitable gambling.

Social gambling is legal in the state of Washington (Section 9.46.0265).

You’ll see repeated references to “professional gambling” in Washington State law. Despite what the term might suggest to you, under Washington law it refers to involvement in the business or operational side of illegal gambling – not gambling professionally.

You’ve probably heard a good deal about Washington State having a law that makes playing online poker illegal. When people reference that, they’re generally talking about Section 9.46.240, which makes it a felony for anyone who

“knowingly transmits or receives gambling information by telephone, telegraph, radio, semaphore, the Internet, a telecommunications transmission system, or similar means.”

Will Washington Regulate Online Poker?

This remains a very complicated question that is largely dependent on how regulated online gambling rolls out in the rest of the United States. Specifically, a scenario that gives tribal interests sufficient motivation to embrace online poker and online gambling is the most positive one for those who want to see such games regulated in Washington.

Until some of the major stakeholders in Washington’s gaming industry develop a greater interested in regulated online poker, it seems as if the state will continue to hold its title as one of the least hospitable places for online poker players.

How Can I Play Online Poker From Washington State?

As previously mentioned, playing online poker in Washington can be potentially problematic for WA poker players. For one thing, very few sites accept players from Washington State . For another, players could be risking criminal action by participating in some forms of online poker.

The solution is either to play poker for play chips only, or to try one of the WA online poker sites that offer a unique format – such as subscription poker – that allow them to conduct business in compliance with the law of Washington State.

Top Online Poker Sites for Washington

Because of the legal situation in Washington State, residents must be very selective about the online poker sites that they use. It’s perfectly legal to access sites for play-money play, or to patronize sites that are structured in a way that comports with Washington law. If that’s the sort of WA online poker room you’re looking for, here are our picks for the top poker sites .

All Poker and Gambling Laws by State

• The state of Washington has not exactly minced words with regard to internet gambling. It is one of few states that explicitly forbids online poker and casino games, but it goes even further to deem offering or playing games online a criminal offense. The state code and Washington State Gambling

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• Washington’s gambling stance is complicated. There is a state lottery and legal charitable gaming activities like bingo, and there are Native American gaming facilities on tribal lands, but other forms of gambling are not only discouraged, they are criminalized. Real-money online poker and other internet games, for example, are specifically

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• Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval recently signed an electronic sports bill that legalizes eSports betting events in the state. The bill extends the current Nevada sports wagering laws to include eSports betting events. The new law takes effect on July 1. Senate Bill 240 passed in the Nevada legislature by wide

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• Chris Cornell, the lead singer for Soundgarden and Audioslave, died of an apparent suicide at the MGM Grand Detroit. The 52-year old icon of the grunge rock era was found dead overnight in his room at the casino-hotel. The Wayne County Medical Examiner determined Cornell’s death to be suicide by

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Washington Gambling Facts

Washington State has one of the most varied and complex regulated gambling menus of any state in America. It starts with the state-backed lottery and extends into tribal casinos. Those options share the space with Washington’s commercial casinos, card rooms and race tracks.

Things get more confusing when you start looking into charitable gambling in Washington State. Multiple forms are permitted, some of which require a license and some of which do not. Depending on your ability to obtain a license, your organization could offer games ranging from bingo to poker to full-blown casino nights.

Things are quite a bit simpler for WA online poker. Washington State does not directly regulate online gambling. No online poker, no online casino – no matter how hard you look, you won’t find an online gambling site that holds a license issued by Washington State.

Some were surprised that the Tennessee legislature approved mobile sports betting in 2019, but it came with a threat from the governor to veto any other attempts to expand gambling in the state. This will likely be the last we hear from Tennessee in a while.

Famous Washington State Poker Players

Many poker players hail from Washington, as they have been able to learn the game and hone their skills at live card rooms around the state. And prior to 2006, thousands of them also played online poker.

Scott Clements was one of the players who started online and built his bankroll on poker sites. He is now the all-time money winner in live tournaments, having to abandon his online poker activities long ago to continue residing in Washington. With a record dating back to 2005 and including several WSOP and WPT titles, Clements continues to accumulate winnings.

Longtime Washington-born poker players also hold solid places on the all-time money list, like Lee Watkinson, Lee Markholt, and Ralph Porter.

As of 2020, these were the top players in that category for live tournament earnings:

Is Online Gambling Legal In Washington Dc Today

1. Scott Clements ($8.2 million)
2. Brandon Cantu ($4.4 million)
3. Lee Watkinson ($4.3 million)
4. Lee Markholt ($4.2 million)
5. Ralph Porter ($4 million)
6. Dylan Wilkerson ($3.3 million)
7. Matt Affleck ($3 million)
8. Tyler Patterson ($2.5 million)
9. Quinn Do ($2.5 million)
10. Darren Rabinowitz ($2.2 million)

Is Online Gambling Legal In Washington Dc 2019

Sources & Citations For This Article on Washington Online Poker