Both the Virginia House and Senate passed bills to legalize online casino on Wednesday, but the work is far from done.
The Senate passed HB 161 by a 21-17 vote while the House passed SB 118 by a 70-29 vote. Each chamber conformed the bills to the versions they passed originally, though, and unanimously voted not to accept the other chamber’s version. That means a conference committee will be held to try to get both sides on the same page.
One thing each bill has in common is a reenactment clause, which requires any legislation passed to be approved again in the following legislative session. That likely puts the potential launch of online casinos in Virginia at some point in 2028 at the earliest.
Virginia’s legislative session ends March 14.
Plea for no votes creates close call
Sen. Bill Stanley Jr. spoke against HB 161 the same way he did with SB 118 and asked for his fellow senators to reject the proposal.
“What we are doing is opening a door that will never be closed and the people that would be most affected would be our children,” Stanley said.
Stanley called out multiple statistics to support his point, including a report from January 2024 that found nearly 71% of gambling revenue in Connecticut comes from fewer than 7% of players as well as another report that suggests New Jersey spends $350 million in social costs annually. Both reports looked at all gambling products and not just online casino.
He also referenced a January 2026 report from Common Sense Media that found 59% of adolescent boys said gambling content popped up without them searching it.
“The children aren’t looking for gambling,” Stanley said. “Gambling is looking for them.”
Senator: ‘4,792 global casinos’
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell followed Stanley and said the legislature has been dealing with issues caused by the internet in all of his 17 years.
“I just did a quick Google search,” Surovell said. “What the internet tells me is that right now there are 4,792 global casinos and online gambling businesses out there. They’re out there, they’re gonna exist, people are gonna use them.
“From my perspective, when there’s stuff out there and there’s stuff happening like that, whether it’s this or cannabis, the best way for us to deal with it is to license it, regulate it and tax it. That way we have control over it instead of having the wild west of the internet deciding what to do.”
Surovell ended his appeal to the chamber by noting the reenactment clause, adding Senators will see the bill again to definitively decide while allowing the conversation to continue with a yes vote now.
House online casino vote less dramatic
There was less chatter about the bill in the House when Del. Marcus Simon conformed SB 118 to his HB 161.
Simon noted the reenactment clause as well, suggesting it gives legislators another year to look at possible “safeguards, guardrails and things we’re going to try to do to prevent problem gaming,” he said.
