DC Mayor Bowser wants to legalize poker and blackjack
In a bid to raise revenue for the District of Columbia, Mayor Muriel Bowser wants to legalize poker and blackjack across D.C.
Bowser unveiled her $21.8 billion FY 2026 budget on May 27, with a focus on boosting business growth and expanding D.C.’s sports and entertainment economy to help steer the economy on the right path.
Bowser’s proposal includes authorizing and taxing commercial bingo and live poker and blackjack tournaments.
“They tell me it’s hot,” Bowser said during her budget presentation.
The proposed Poker and Blackjack Gaming Authorization Act of 2025 would require the D.C. Office of Lottery and Gaming (OLG) to regulate card gaming for players aged 18 or older across the District. Only locations approved by OLG would be able to operate card gaming facilities under a two-year license.
Card games would be taxed at 25%
A fiscal impact statement notes that online poker and blackjack would be taxed at 25% of gross gaming revenue collected through poker and blackjack.
The statement adds that the OLG would hire an additional investigator/licensing specialist and a compliance auditor. The total salary and fringe benefit cost of those employees would be $249,000 in fiscal year 2026 and $1 million over the duration of the financial plan, whuic extends until the end of FY 2029. Those expenses would reduce OLG’s transfer to the General Fund by the same amount.
Meanwhile, the Commercial Bingo Amendment Act of 2025 would also legalize commercial bingo and tax it at 7.5%.
No revenue projections provided
The note acknowledges that no additional revenue estimates for legalizing poker, blackjack and commercial bingo are available as it is unknown how many licensees will operate, “nor if gaming activity will displace other existing taxable sales.”
The Associated Press reported that Bowser’s D.C. government faces an estimated $1 billion shortfall over the next three years as President Donald Trump continues to slash the federal workforce. The city’s chief financial officer has estimated that 40,000 jobs for D.C. residents will be cut.
“If you don’t have enough money, something has to go or you have to make more money,” Bowser noted on Tuesday.
The budget proposal that includes legal poker and blackjack will go before the D.C. Council for debate and potential modification. The council is scheduled to vote on the budget at the end of July.
If poker and blackjack ultimately do become legal, it would be the latest change to D.C.’s gambling market. The District notably open up its online sports betting market last year and ESPN Bet’s launch in the jurisdiction in January brought the market to six mobile sportsbooks.
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