Concurrence May Lengthen Virginia Road For iGaming Legalization

The Virginia General Assembly looks to be leaning toward taking a more deliberate approach on the potential path to legalizing online casino gaming in the Old Dominion.

Though they needed reconsideration votes in both chambers last week, Del. Marcus Simon’s bill, HB 161, is now in the Senate, and companion legislation SB 118 filed by Sen. Mamie Locke is now in the House.

The House General Laws Committee submitted a substitute bill Tuesday with one area of concurrence, inserting Simon’s two-session language into Locke’s bill. Though Locke’s original legislation called for a July 1, 2027, launch, the language inserted mirrors Simon’s bill that would require the 2027 General Assembly to again pass the bills in order for legalization.

Deliberative doings not a surprise

No one was expecting the path to legalization to be easy, and that has been evident from the get-go as both bills emerged from subcommittees by narrow margins. Locke’s bill in particular had a notable modification to include more robust responsible and problem gambling amendments before emerging from the Senate’s General Laws Committee earlier this month.

The substitute bill introduced Tuesday in the House General Laws Committee passed, 16-4, moving it forward to the Appropriations Committee. Simon’s bill in the Senate General Laws Committee passed 9-6 Wednesday, and was referred to the Finance and Appropriations Committee.

The two bills remain tied to SB 609, sponsored by Sen. L. Louise Lucas. That bill incorporates a previous bill (SB 195) submitted by Sen. Lashrecse D. Aird that would shift regulatory oversight of internet casino gaming from the Virginia Lottery to a newly created Virginia Lottery and Gaming Authority to oversee all gambling in the state.

A substitute to Lucas’ bill, which narrowly passed in the Senate, 20-19, easily passed through the House’s General Laws Committee by a 19-1 vote Tuesday, and was sent back to the Senate for concurrence.

Sweepstakes ban language untouched

One area with bi-cameral agreement on the bills sponsored by Simon and Locke is banning sweepstakes casinos. That language remains untouched, most notably the hefty fines operators would face. A first offense carries a $100,000 fine; second and subsequent offenses, $250,000. But the key component of this part of the bills is that those fines can be issued daily for continued violations.

The Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA) is against both bills and Tuesday released an Eilers & Krejcik study it commissioned claiming its operators could help generate more than $30 million in new annual revenue if regulated.

“The Virginia legislature faces an important choice,” said Sean Ostrow, managing director of the SGLA, in a statement. “Lawmakers can effectively ban an established Social Plus industry that has operated in Virginia since 2012, or they can implement a thoughtful regulatory framework that protects consumers and generates more than $30 million in new annual revenue for the Commonwealth.”