A Virginia Senate subcommittee voted narrowly against an online casino gaming bill, a move that could shape the future of betting in Virginia, but the full committee will get an opportunity to advance the bill in the coming weeks.
Down But Not Out
A polarizing iGaming bill got off to a rocky start after a Senate subcommittee voted 4-3 against it, but the full 15-member panel on the General Law and Technology Committee will also vote on it, and it could be resurrected with majority approval.
Competing iGaming Bills Gain Momentum
The bill in question, Senator Mamie Locke’s SB827, is one of several iGaming bills, with Delegate Marcus B. Simon’s HB 161 also trying to gain traction in the lower chamber. Simon’s iGaming bill from last year, HB 2171, never crossed the finish line, but many believe this year’s legislative assembly will be more hospitable to online casino gambling.
Both Senator Locke and Delegate Simon have voiced similar reasons for sponsoring their respective bills.
“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 in some guardrails,” she added.
“This is revenue not getting accessed by the Commonwealth; we’re getting zero percent,” Simon remarked. “And this doesn’t create the online gambling market. They’re already doing it.”
Gaming Commission Calls For Regulation
Even the Chairman of the Virginia Gaming Commission, Jeremy McPike, has stated that action needs to be taken on an iGaming bill, as long as stringent guardrails against problem gambling are implemented.
“Appreciate the patron’s (Senator Locke) 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.”
Opposition Remains
Sports betting has been widely accepted since the US Supreme Court overturned PASPA in 2018, paving the way for states to decide for themselves whether they would pass sports betting legislation and create new revenue streams by taxing it. Although 39 of the nation’s 50 states have either retail or mobile sports betting (often both), only eight states have passed iGaming legislation, with Maine being the latest to do so.
One of the primary reasons why iGaming has not been as popular among lawmakers as sports betting is the addictive nature of having a 24-hour casino at the touch of a button, which could lead to addictive gambling issues.
Impact on Land-Based Casinos and Jobs
The other pitfall in many people’s eyes, especially land-based casino stakeholders, is the possible cannibalization of foot traffic at those venues, which could lead to job losses and a reduced bottom line.
Therefore, organizations like the National Association Against iGaming and others like it have been vocal in their opposition to online casino gambling.
Brianne Doura-Schawohl, representing the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, said, “The societal negative impacts greatly outweigh any purported benefits. Research is clear that 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?”
That question will be answered when the General Law and Technology Committee votes in the near future.
