Anyone curious about the city’s most recent effort to redraw City Council district maps is instead likely to get a hard sell for the many wonders of the online casino and gaming industry, aimed specifically at Japanese gamblers. While looking for a Council district map recently, this reporter clicked on a link to the redistrictatx.org website, which at one time was a resource connected to the work of the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, which met throughout 2021 to draw a new map of all 10 districts based on new census data. What came up instead was a site that offered a series of tutorials for newcomers to the world of online casinos, with calls to action (after a run through Google Translate) like “Slot machines: the best strategies and options to win” and “The magic of blackjack: exploring strategy and fun.” Some preliminary sleuthing on WhoIs.com shows the site was most recently registered by GMO Internet Group last April and is valid through April 2025. No telling how any of this plays into the charter amendment related to redistricting that City Council voted to put on the November ballot, but anyone with an eye toward the next redistricting process should note that redistrictatx.net or redistrictatx.com are available at very affordable prices.
