Will Washington, D.C. Outrace Its Neighbors for iGaming Legalization?
In January 2026, Maine became just the eighth U.S. state to authorize full-fledged online casino gaming - with all of those states located east of the Mississippi River.
Part of the reason, of course, is geographical rivalries. New Jersey and Delaware got the ball rolling just one week apart in November 2013, and other states in the same region followed suit.
Maine joins Connecticut and Rhode Island as New England states offering the legal, regulated gambling option.
That dynamic serves as a backdrop for Washington, D.C. seeking to launch its iGaming industry before surrounding states Maryland and Virginia do the same. But that is not the only reason, the bill's sponsor stated in his press release.
In early April 2026, D.C. Council member Wendell Felder introduced the “Internet Gaming and Consumer Protection Act of 2026” by noting that online casino games are already accessible to District residents through unregulated and offshore platforms.
"In the absence of a legal framework, these platforms operate without meaningful consumer safeguards, age verification, or regulatory oversight, creating risks for residents and limiting the District’s ability to respond.... Initial annual tax revenue could reach tens of millions of dollars, with growth expected as the market matures."
The cost of an iGaming license would be $2 million for a term of five years, with the district's four operating mobile sports betting companies getting a leg up on potential iGaming rivals in terms of regulatory review.
A public hearing on the bill - which proposes a 25% tax on gross iGaming revenue - is scheduled for May 4, 2026.
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Maryland and Virginia's own iGaming efforts
In March 2026, Maryland state Senator Ron Watson put forth a bill that would legalize iGaming in his state - the fourth consecutive year that the concept has been discussed in the Maryland statehouse.
State casino operators have aggressively opposed authorization of online casino gaming, citing fears of cannibalization of their core customer base that they say would lead to the loss of thousands of middle-class jobs at their locations.
The concerns echo those of Atlantic City casino operators 15 years earlier, with a change of heart coming only after legislators made it a requirement that any iGaming company seeking to do business in New Jersey would only be approved via a formal partnership with a brick-and-mortar casino. And with that partnership came a guarantee that a slice of the new iGaming revenue be turned over to those Atlantic City properties.
The Maryland legislature concluded its business for the year just a few weeks after Watson’s bill was introduced, eliminating the possibility that an iGaming referendum might be proposed to voters across the state on the November 2026 ballot.
Watson had claimed that the state could add $300 million in badly-needed new annual tax revenue if the referendum was approved.
In Virginia, similar efforts in early 2026 to legalize online casino gaming ultimately failed after lawmakers in favor of such an authorization could not come to a compromise on specifics of implementation.
That's even though the Virginia bill, unlike the Maryland version, sought to mirror the New Jersey model of only permitting iGaming operators who struck deals with the state's retail casinos.
The district's legislative calendar is unusual in that it runs year-round, giving lawmakers plenty of time in 2026 to try to pass an iGaming bill. There’s a real chance that national iGaming legalization proponents may soon be looking to Washington, D.C. as its lone opportunity for a second approval in 2026 beyond just Maine.
