Online casino legislation is still in its early stages in Virginia, but so far each chamber has responded positively to the bills.
HB 161 was recommended to pass out of the House General Laws committee by a 5-4 vote in the Gaming subcommittee Tuesday. That was followed by a 12-8 vote in the full committee Thursday to send the bill to the Appropriations.
That follows a 9-6 vote for SB 118 to move the bill to the Senate Finance Committee.
It is still early days for online casino legislation in Virginia with the real test of passing a full chamber vote still to come. Regardless, Virginia currently has the most momentum to become the ninth U.S. state to legalize online casinos.
House bill clears tight subcommittee vote
The narrow vote on HB 161 followed more than an hour of testimony from the usual suspects including casino operators, lottery officials, racing interests, as well as advocates for problem gambling support.
Bill sponsor Del. Marcus Simon said the proposal is aimed at bringing oversight to an already active illegal market, citing estimates that Virginians wager roughly $12 billion annually on unregulated online casinos. Supporters included Caesars, which runs one of Virginia’s five land-based casinos, as well as the Sports Betting Alliance which represents bet365, BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics and FanDuel.
Opponents, including Cordish Companies and Churchill Downs, warned that online casinos could cannibalize retail gaming revenue and cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of jobs. Del. Marcia Price, who voted against the bill, argued that removing physical barriers would make gambling losses more common.
January vote reshaped Senate bill
Tuesday’s vote action follows a key development on Jan. 29 when the Senate committee advanced SB 118 after adopting a substantially revised substitute. The bill initially failed to win support in a subcommittee the prior week.
The revised Senate measure strengthened responsible gaming requirements, mandating the use of player data technology to detect risky behavior, requiring phased intervention protocols, and shifting oversight responsibility from player initiated controls to operator led monitoring.
It also outlawed sweepstakes casinos and banned prepaid cards as a payment method.
Differences between House and Senate bills
Both measures legalize and regulate online casino gaming under the Virginia Lottery and set 15% tax on gaming revenue, but the House and Senate bills differ in how they approach consumer protections and rollout.
The Senate version takes a stricter stance on responsible gaming, requiring data-driven monitoring. The House bill, meanwhile, has a more flexible approach, leaning more on existing regulatory tools.
Lawmakers in both of the chambers said those differences would need to be resolved if the proposals continue moving forward this session.
