Washington Post Editorial Board on Legalized Sports Betting in DC: 'Tread Carefully'
Washington, DC Councilmember Jack Evan’s newly introduced bill would legalize sports betting while also placing regulations.
Evan is willing to have sports betting in hotels, bars and the like, making DC like the closest thing to a Wild West atmosphere in the world of legalized sports wagering.
The Washington Post offered its editorial on the subject late Tuesday, noting that there are many questions that must be posed prior to taking the dive.
These questions include:
Are there strong consumer protections? What about safeguards to prevent children and other young people from betting? Should money be earmarked to address gambling addiction? Can wagering be limited to professional sports? And why should the bill earmark the tax revenue to the Commission on the Arts and Humanities and early-childhood education?
The editorial staff admits there is money to be made with sports betting in the district following the US Supreme Court abolishing decades long prohibition and leaving it up to individual states to amend their own laws.
Estimates of illegal sports betting in the United States vary from $107 billion to $150 billion annually, so it is no wonder states are trying to cash in. Nevada, exempted from the old federal ban, saw $4.8 billion in wagers in 2017, resulting in $248.8 million in revenue for the state.
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
