Report Says No Misconduct in District of Columbia Online Poker LegalizationBut hearing to be held on Jan. 26 to possibly repeal provisions |
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The Washington Post reported Friday that the D.C. inspector general found “insufficient evidence” to suggest that any council members engaged in ethical misconduct when approving intranet poker and a lottery contract under one piece of legislation in Dec. 2010.
The jurisdiction was the first in the nation to legalize online gaming, but since then has failed to move toward offering real-money games. Nevada was second to authorizing online poker and has quickly moved to establishing regulations and taking licensing applications.
The report in D.C. did highlight some of the questions surrounding the way online gaming was added to an omnibus budget bill without a complete public vetting process.
According to The Post, Council Member Michael Brown, the driving force behind the web-gaming plan, at the time was a lobbyist at a law firm that had clients from the gaming industry.
However, the report concluded that there wasn’t evidence to suggest Brown acted improperly or received money from gaming interests.
A Jan. 26 hearing reportedly will further discuss the issue of online gaming and whether or not the plan should be repealed or proceed.
According to The Washington Times, some lawmakers regret not making online gaming a stand-alone measure.
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