DC online casino bill B26-0656 faces Dec. 15 deadline after months in committee

An Oct. 22 report on Washington, D.C.'s proposed online casino market describes the same bill Councilmember Wendell Felder filed on April 9, with the same 25% tax and sweepstakes ban. B26-0656 was still in committee as of mid-September, and it must reach final reading by the Council's Dec. 15 Legislative Meeting or lapse.

• Ward 7 Councilmember Wendell Felder filed B26-0656 on April 9, 2026, and the Committee on Human Services held its public hearing on May 4.
• The bill would tax operators at 25% and charge a $2 million initial license fee, the same terms reported on Oct. 22 as in the April filing.
• Dual-currency sweepstakes platforms would face fines of up to $100,000 per violation, or $500,000 for repeat offenses.
• Under Council Rule 418, a permanent bill without a final reading by the Dec. 15 Legislative Meeting lapses when Council Period 26 ends on Jan. 2, 2027.

An Oct. 22 report on Washington, D.C.’s Internet Gaming and Consumer Protection Act of 2026 put a licensed online casino market and a ban on dual-currency sweepstakes casinos back in front of the industry. The bill is not new. Ward 7 Councilmember Wendell Felder filed B26-0656 on April 9, and the Committee on Human Services set its public hearing for May 4, Gambling Insider reported at the time. As of mid-September, the bill was still sitting in that committee, according to Amundsen Davis. With Council Period 26 closing on Jan. 2, 2027, B26-0656 now has to clear committee and pass final reading by the Council’s Dec. 15 Legislative Meeting, or start over in Council Period 27.

Oct. 22 report repeats the terms Felder filed April 9

CDC Gaming’s account matches the April filing point for point: players would have to be 21, each licensee would pay $2 million up front for its initial license, and operators would hand over 25% of their gross gaming revenue in tax. Dual-currency sweepstakes platforms would face fines of up to $100,000 per violation, or $500,000 for repeat offenses.

The structure around those numbers has not changed either. Licensing would sit with the Office of Lottery and Gaming, and the District’s 25% levy would apply to what operators earn from online play once the revenue figure is adjusted, Amundsen Davis noted. A new Community Reinvestment Fund would collect a further 2% of operator revenue, with the money earmarked for job training, help with personal finances and support for people with gambling problems. Each would need a Certified Business Enterprise participation plan. Companies that already hold a DC sports betting operator license would get expedited review for an online casino license.

That pairing of a regulated online casino market with a sweepstakes ban is the trade-off licensed operators have been pushing for. Elsewhere, iGaming legalization has stalled, and most action on sweepstakes has come as stand-alone bans. B26-0656 bundles both into one bill.

Poker sits inside the same 25% tax as the casino product

Poker is in scope. The bill covers online casino-style games with poker included, so a District poker offering would carry the same Office of Lottery and Gaming license, the same 2% Community Reinvestment Fund assessment and the same 25% levy as the rest of an operator’s online casino product.

Felder has sold the bill on revenue. His office projected more than $10 million in upfront license fees, about $50 million a year in revenue and more than $75 million a year within five years. He framed it as a way to raise new money without raising taxes during a tighter District budget season.

The budget process has already touched the bill once. In late May, during FY2027 budget markups, Felder said the Committee on Human Services had recommended creating a fund that would later let the Council pass his bill, with online casino revenue directed to consumer protection and public health. That recommendation did not move B26-0656 itself out of committee.

Caesars, DraftKings and BetMGM backed B26-0656 on May 4

The May 4 hearing drew the regulator and the operators that would compete for licenses. Thomas R. Burnside, executive director of the Office of Lottery and Gaming, testified on the bill before the Committee on Human Services, according to the DC Office of the Chief Financial Officer.

Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings and BetMGM all supported the measure, SBC Americas reported. BetMGM’s Robert O’Connor argued that online casino gaming works best as a complement to in-person betting. Committee Chair Matthew Frumin said the platforms the bill targets have no meaningful consumer safeguards or regulatory oversight in the District.

Industry support at a hearing is not the same as a committee vote. Since May 4, no further committee step has been reported. Frumin’s committee holds the bill, and the next move is his panel’s to make.

Rule 418 makes Dec. 15 the final-reading cutoff

The Council’s calendar leaves little slack. Council Period 26 ends at 11:59 a.m. on Jan. 2, 2027, and any bill introduced during the period that has not completed the legislative process by then must begin again in Council Period 27, the Council said in September. Council Rule 418 is stricter on timing: a permanent bill that has not had its final reading by the Dec. 15 Legislative Meeting lapses when the period ends and can only be reintroduced later.

Leaving committee and reaching that final reading both have to happen before Dec. 15 for B26-0656. Should the bill miss the date, reintroduction in Council Period 27 is the only way back.

Passage on Dec. 15 would not finish the process either. District legislation also goes to Congress for review, and the Council Secretary’s office said it would keep transmitting measures through late October. Measures that have not become law when Congress adjourns sine die are sent again in January, and their projected law dates start over.

The date that decides whether B26-0656 survives Council Period 26 is the Dec. 15 Legislative Meeting.

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