Virginia iGaming Bill Advances With Responsible Gambling Revisions

The Virginia Senate General Laws Committee advanced Senate Bill 118 (SB 118), which would legalize up to 15 Virginia online casinos. The bill now heads to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.

This same bill was just voted to not move forward , 4-3, by the GL&T Gaming subcommittee just a few days ago. So, what changed?

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Revisions and Responsible Gambling Measures

Sen. Jeremy McPike, Chair of the GL&T Gaming Subcommittee, had strong pushback on the lack of responsible gambling guardrails in the original bill. Sen. Mamie Locke got to work quickly and made key revisions, including:

• Requiring operators to implement RG programs
• Use of player data and technology to automatically flag potentially at-risk accounts
• Implementing a three-phase intervention program that can be escalated, including proactive communications, then tutorials and resources, and ultimately access to a responsible gambling professional when warranted
• 5% of the tax revenue generated goes toward the problem gambling fund
• Specific ad standards to avoid targeting minors or at-risk individuals

Casino Operator and Worker Protections

Although the RG revisions are leading headlines, the bill was also changed to provide support to employees of the five current in-state casinos and their operators. The language was updated to include:

• Mandating online casino operators to create live dealer studios, which would potentially bring over 1,000 jobs to Virginia
• A job mitigation process that would provide the ability for employees who lose their jobs as a result of iGaming to be retrained or move to other positions within the casino
• The creation of a "Hold Harmless Fund," which takes 6% of tax revenue generated from online casinos and would be used to offset any revenue loss attributed to the legalization of iGaming

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What Happens Next?

With SB 118 being reported favorably, it now moves to Senate Finance and Appropriations. Here, the bill will go under a financial microscope, looking at things like projected revenue, implementation and enforcement costs, and whether the legalization of iGaming will impact any other taxable activities. This last piece is incredibly important, as those opposed to the bill have said the state's education fund could take a massive cut if online gaming is passed, to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Assuming it gets through SFAC, SB 118 would need to clear the full Senate by February 17. This is the day the bill would head to the House to go through the same process it just went through in the Senate.