The first vote for online casinos in Virginia this year was a failure.
SB 118 from Sen. Mamie Locke fell to a 3-4 vote with one abstention at the Senate General Laws and Technology Gaming Subcommittee on Friday morning. Two bills that would create a fantasy sports loophole allowing games against the house and create the Virginia Gaming Commission did pass.
An amended online casino bill was accepted that addressed cannibalization concerns for in-person casinos in Virginia. There were still some concerns about how strong responsible gambling protections were and what kind of impact the state’s iLottery sales could suffer.
The bill can be addressed again, but the Virginia Legislature only meets for two months this year, ending March 14. Legislation must be passed by its originating chamber by Feb. 17.
Positives for online casino eventually
Online casino legalization in Virginia appears to be a matter of when, not if, based on remarks from Chairman Jeremy McPike.
“Appreciate the patron’s work, it is something that needs to be regulated, at some point. We gotta figure this out,” McPike said. “I’m going to abstain on this one because I do want to see legislation that really ups the game in terms of problem gaming. We need to deal with this and this is probably one of the most challenging areas with problem gaming.”
McPike added he wants to see the “toughest and most stringent” problem gambling controls in the country. McPike notably sponsored the Senate bill that legalized sports betting in 2020.
Plenty of support, opposition
The online casino bill saw typical supporters, including the Boyd, Caesars, the Sports Betting Alliance and live table game operator Evolution.
Unite HERE, a union representing casino workers nationwide, took no position on the bill. Its representative thanked Sen. Locke for working to put in protections for the in-person industry, but thought there more could be done.
Opposition included the National Association Against iGaming, representatives from the horse racing industry and problem gambling professionals. The NAAiG reported figures from an Innovation Group study that suggested $78.2 million in tax dollars from in-person casinos would be lost annually as well as between 1,800 and 2,200 jobs.
Brianne Doura-Schawohl represented the Campaign For Fairer Gambling and stressed the addictiveness of online casino games.
“The societal negative impacts greatly outweigh any purported benefits,” Doura-Schawohl said. “Research is clear these are the single most addictive gambling products by about 10 times the rate. … Is this body prepared to turn every Virginian’s hand into a casino?”
Sponsor: not time to clutch pearls
Locke later responded to the “nay sayers and opponents.”
“Here are the facts. Virginians are already spending $12 billion annually on iGaming platforms,” Locke said. “So we can either allow that to continue and do nothing about it, or we can try to wrap our arms around it with some guardrails.
“… We can sit here and clutch our moralistic pearls all we want to. But it’s already being done. So, we can keep it illegal or we can put some guardrails.”
Mamie’s effort to legalize online casino was punted to this year early in the 2025 session.
Gaming regulator would not be ready
A key issue is that the bill would require regulations to be promulgated by the end of September. For now, the Virginia Lottery serves as the regulator, though lawmakers could approve the Virginia Gaming Commission by the end of the session, if SB 195, sponsored by Sens. Lashrecse Aird and Bryce Reeves, passes.
However it may take until 2028 for the commission to get up and running.
“As the patron, alongside Sen. Reeves, of the gaming commission, I have to use this opportunity to say this is exactly why the gaming commission is so important,” Aird said. “I know this legislation has a September 2026 delayed enactment but I hope we can keep the conversation going about that.”
Fantasy “loophole” closing
Sen. Adam Ebbin introduced SB 129, which will ban fantasy contests that are played against the house. The bill also raises the registration fee to $50,000 from $8,300 and taxes contest revenue at 10%.
“Some operators have exploited this system to offer single-player contests against the house, as I said, essentially functioning like sports betting operators outside of our sports betting system and law,” Ebbin said.
DraftKings and PrizePicks were both in support of the bill.
