A bill in Washington, DC that would legalize online casinos and ban sweepstakes casinos is moving again.
The DC Council's Committee on Human Services has scheduled a committee markup of Council Bill 26-0656, the Internet Gaming and Consumer Protection Act of 2026, for Nov. 18.
It's the first action on the bill since its public hearing on May 4, more than six months ago. At a markup, committee members go through the bill, make any amendments, and vote on whether to send it to the full Council. That makes Nov. 18 the most important date yet for the legislation.
What B26-0656 would do
Councilmember Wendell Felder's bill tries to do two things at once: legalize real-money online casinos in the District and shut down sweepstakes casinos.
On the iGaming side, the bill would:
Tax operators at 25% of gross gaming revenue.
Charge a $2 million initial license fee, good for five years, and $500,000 for each five-year renewal.
Require players to be 21 or older.
Put the DC Office of Lottery and Gaming in charge of the market.
The sweeps ban is aimed squarely at the dual-currency model of Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins. The bill's language outlaws unlicensed gaming "including through a dual-currency gaming product," and it also calls out subscription-based models as illegal.
If the bill passes, the Office of Lottery and Gaming could also send cease-and-desist letters to sweeps operators, and the DC Attorney General could take operators to court and potentially seize the profits they made in the District.
How we got here
Felder filed the bill on April 9. It's mainly an iGaming bill, with the sweeps ban as a secondary item. That's the same dynamic of sweeps ban bills in Massachusetts, Maryland, and Virginia this year. Those all failed.
Because it's a federal district, a sweeps ban in Maryland or Virginia wouldn't apply in the District. DC would need its own law.
The Committee on Human Services held a public hearing on May 4. Supporters made the case that residents are already gambling online, just not legally:
Councilmember Matthew Frumin cited an estimate that DC residents wagered close to $700 million on unlicensed platforms in 2024.
DraftKings' Matt Scalf said the company has paid nearly $11 million in DC taxes and estimated about $500 million in revenue the District is missing out on over five years.
John Pappas of the iDevelopment and Economic Association pointed to about 100,000 visits a month from DC residents to offshore sites.
Opponents pushed back hard. Stop Predatory Gambling's Les Bernal argued residents would lose $400 million over five years. The National Association Against iGaming argued legal online casinos in DC might violate the federal Johnson Act. And Commissioner Bernie Horn said the bill was premature and should wait for the next mayor and Council.
Notably, the sweeps ban barely came up. There was only one brief mention of it. Since then, the bill has sat in committee, until now.
What happens at a markup, and after
A markup is the committee's working session on a bill. Before the meeting, committee staff typically prepare a revised version of the bill, known as a committee print, along with a committee report that explains the bill and sums up the hearing testimony. At the meeting, members can propose amendments and then vote on whether to send the bill forward.
That means the version of B26-0656 that comes out of the markup may look different from what Felder introduced in April. The tax rate, license fees, and scope of the sweeps ban may change.
If the committee approves the bill, it still has a long way to go:
The bill goes to the Committee of the Whole, which is made up of all 13 councilmembers.
The full Council has to approve it twice, at a first and second reading.
The mayor has to sign it.
Because DC is a federal district, the bill then goes before Congress for a review period before it can take effect.
If the committee doesn't approve it, the bill stays put.
What else is shaping up legislatively in 2027?
DC's markup lands as the sweeps industry is bracing for another year of legislation.
Pennsylvania: House Bill 2801 was pre-filed in late September ahead of the 2027 session, which begins Jan. 5. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and the attorney general would both get the power to investigate and send cease-and-desist letters. The bill sits in the House Gaming Oversight Committee, which its lead sponsor, Rep. Russ Diamond, co-chairs.
Wyoming: The state's Select Committee on Gaming voted in early October to sponsor a sweeps ban bill, 27LSO-0098, for the session that starts Jan. 12. It would add online casinos and online sweepstakes casinos to Wyoming's definition of "professional gambling," which carries up to three years in prison and a $3,000 fine. Unlike Pennsylvania's bill, Wyoming's would also target single-currency models.
Texas? Stake.us has also stopped accepting new registrations in Texas and Mississippi, while letting existing players keep playing. We still don't know why. A Stake.us rep couldn't confirm a reason when Sweepsy asked, and with a new attorney general and a new legislature arriving in Texas in January, it's one of the biggest open questions heading into 2027.