When Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi conspired with then-D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray and at-large Councilman Michael Brown to bring Internet gambling to the District, they claimed it was to close a budget gap. But the cumulative projected financial return of $13.1 million from 2011 to 2014 amounts to peanuts, especially for a government with a $10 billion annual budget. The culture of the nation’s capital is being threatened for what amounts to about $3.3 million per year. Surely the trio’s judgment was impaired. Their ability to assess the best interest of the city probably was hampered by the din of gaming industry lobbyists and personal ambition.
But, make no mistake, there are far better ways to improve the city’s fiscal health than putting the government in bed with the gambling industry and setting up betting parlors near the White House and Capitol.
