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Washington, DC became the first US jurisdiction to legalize online poker Tuesday and other states are likely to follow, although plans to offer the activity in Florida fell through one day later.
Some million people are located within the confines of DC in any given week day. There is a sort of irony in the idea that the very politicians who have objected to legalizing Internet poker will be among the few who can actually play with a site based in the US. Greek owned Intralot will host the new poker website.
The problem with the District of Columbia plan is that poker games will require a large enough pool of players. While DC might offer such a pool, especially on business days when the nation’s capital population more than doubles, initial implementation calls for play to occur only in designated “hot spots”. This is likely to reduce the potential player base dramatically.
"There would be what's called hotspots,” noted City Councilman Michael A. Brown, who proposed the measure. “You have to have your own laptop, and you will have a serial number that will identify you, and you can be from anywhere in the country, but you have to do it within the borders of the District of Columbia.”
These hot spots would likely be found in bars and hotels once the software is up later in the year.
Washington, DC anticipates millions of dollars in added revenue as a result of the new industry.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
