D.C. online gambling delayed again

At this rate, maybe Washington, D.C. won’t be the first jurisdiction in the United States to regulate online gambling. Each time we get excited that it’s about to happen, there is a delay. The most recent one is because it’s the summer right now, so that’s inconvenient for some people.
When it was reported that the District of Columbia had passed a law regulating online gambling, many in the public were outraged because it was the first they had heard of it. The measure was stuck into a supplemental budget bill, which the public rarely pays any attention to. In addition, the gambling measure did not receive a debate or a public hearing. The people were upset that they had not been consulted.
To quell the rising antagonism, the D.C. Council and D.C. Lottery agreed to hold public forums on the topic. This will give the government the opportunity to explain that it won’t lead to a crime wave (not that D.C. residents would notice) and opportunity for residents to act hysterical or share legitimate concerns (probably both).
So the forums were scheduled to start on August 16 and end in the middle of September, with the online gambling website launching shortly thereafter. But people complained. They want a public forum, but “August isn’t a good time for me because it’s the summer and I’m going to be out of town on vacation. Can we do it later?” Somehow, the D.C. Council forgot to check with every resident and ask when would work best with their schedules. So to quiet the anger (again), the forums were postponed. They will now begin in the middle of September and end sometime in October. That will also delay the implementation of the regulation.