D.C. bill would regulate online casinos and target sweepstakes sites

Washington, D.C. lawmakers are considering Bill B26-0656, the Internet Gaming and Consumer Protection Act of 2026, which would authorise regulated real-money online casinos and address unlicensed sweepstakes sites. The bill remains a proposal and has not become law.

Testimony points to a public hearing at which the plan was described as putting legal online casinos under the D.C. Office of Lottery and Gaming. Should B26-0656 become law, operators would have to verify who their customers are and how old they are, guard against money laundering and protect players from gambling harm. The measure would additionally fund the Department of Behavioral Health and levy a regulatory assessment of 2% on the gross gaming revenue of every licensed operator.

Spring was when the measure first came forward. Thomas R. Burnside, executive director of the Office of Lottery and Gaming, informed lawmakers that the agency knew of “more than 20 unlicensed online sweepstakes sites” running in the district. He further characterised sweepstakes casinos as a “gray area,” noting that district law does not currently specify what sweepstakes are.

Among the states Burnside named as already offering regulated online casino gaming were Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Michigan. Turning to the district's current lottery offerings, he acknowledged that the D.C. Lottery's iLottery might lose some business, yet he testified that he expected yearly online casino revenue to exceed those losses.