Virginia Gambling Expansion Bill on Cusp of Approval, Will Regulate Sports Betting, Land-Based and Online Casinos

There appears to be a very positive development regarding regulation of the casino industry in traditionally conservative Virginia that has, historically, not been inclined towards this particular vertical.

Whether the times are changing or something else entirely is at stake, we shall see – in any case, this Eastern state could kill as much as three birds with one stone…

…as a bill is in the works that would legalize land-based casinos, online casino gambling AND sports betting!

The Governor’s Move

That would present an unexpectedly big step forward for one of the few US states that still does not permit casinos or any form of gambling, for that matter.

The gambling expansion legislation, SB 1126, is now awaiting the approval of Virginia Governor, Ralph Northam. His signature would turn the document that is, essentially, a mere proposal at this stage…

…into a full-fledged law and regulation. It would also authorize the Virginia Lottery Board to act as a state regulatory body and work on handing out casino licenses per city – IF the city meets certain criteria.

What Are the Conditions For Obtaining a License?

For starters, the city that wishes to host the casino must have at least 40% of the land area exempted from local real estate taxation. In case an Indian tribe is operating gambling in the state, that’s 24 per cent of land. Furthermore…

…the city’s population must be over 200,000 as per the 2017 census and its unemployment rate must be at 5% (as per November 2017 figures) or 4% if the city has the Border Region Retail Tourism Development District Act.

Local community must be ed by any casino that gets built in Virginia, which cannot come to without a local referendum on the matter that must be held by January 1st 2021.

Brief History of Senate Bill 1126

Originally proposed in late February, SB 1126 was introduced by Democrat, Louise Lucas. So far, the prime candidate cities are Portsmouth, Danville, Bristol, Norfolk and Richmond.

One month prior to this…

…Virginia Senate committee approved the bill allowing these cities to acquire casino construction licenses. After resisting gambling regulation for decades, Virginia announced it is ripe to alter its stance with the ing of this decision in late January.

Interestingly, it was then that Finance Secretary of the state, Aubrey Lane, hinted at the Governor not being pleased with the initiative, by saying the legislation is going beyond what he said he is comfortable with.

Source:

“Virginia on the verge of allowing gambling”, Niji Narayan, europeangaming.eu, March 25, 2019.