Less than five years after the state legalized four commercial casinos via voter referendum, a Virginia lawmaker is hoping to expand gambling once again.
State Sen. Mamie Locke pre-filed online casino bill SB827 on New Year’s Eve and it will officially be offered on Jan. 8.
The bill would allow each of the state’s five casinos (only three of which are currently open) to have up to three skins on a casino lciense. These casinos would pay a $1 million fee for a license that lasts for five years.
The tax rate proposed in the bill is 15%.
Bill would allow credit cards, out of state live dealer studios
While the tax rate falls within the recommended range of the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) model igaming legislation, it does deviate from the recently unveiled document in some ways.
One notable difference is that Locke’s legislation would allow for credit card deposits, something the model law expressly prohibits.
The bill also expressly states that online casino sites can offer live dealer games from studios that are not located within the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Even though state casinos would be the recipient of these licenses, there is a chance at least one casino operator will push back on the proposed legislation.
Cordish could push back on online casino initiative
The Cordish Companies is the group behind the forthcoming Petersburg casino that voters approved via referendum this past November.
Last year, Cordish was one of the most outspoken opponents of proposed online casino legislation in Maryland. The Cordish Companies as well as many labor unions launched a campaign against Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary’s online casino bill in 2024. The bill advanced out of the House last year before dying in the Senate.
“I was very pro igaming at one point in my career, and not so long ago honestly. But as as time has gone on and we’ve started to see the results of states that have brought on casino, and even as mobile sports betting is expanded, my opinion and my view of things started to shift slightly to the point where I think that we have to have a real honest conversation about what’s happening today,” Cordish Companies President Rob Norton said at SBC Summit North America last year.
The other casino operators in the state include Caesars, Hard Rock, Rush Street and Boyd, which is working with the Pamunkey Indian Tribe to open a casino in Norfolk.
