Greensville County Justice Louis R. Lerner has decided to extend an injunction that will allow skill games to continue operating in Virginia, with a new trial date set for the spring of 2023.
In his ruling, Judge Lerner said: "The Commonwealth does not control the Free Speech clause. The Free Speech clause controls the Commonwealth." This quote is from First Amendment scholar and lawyer, Rodney Smolla.
From July 1, 2020, until July 1, 2021, skill games provided nearly $140m in tax revenue for the Virginia Covid-19 Relief Fund and local municipalities.
Pace-O-Matic Spokesman Michael Barley commented: "First, we want to thank Hermie Sadler and his legal team for fighting so passionately on behalf of small businesses that depend on this revenue.
"We are pleased that legal skill games will continue operating in Virginia and providing much-needed revenue to small business owners across the state.
"We anticipate the final court decision will uphold the legality of skill games in the commonwealth. However, without further regulation and additional taxation, taxpayers are missing out on nearly $100 million in tax revenue that could have gone toward critical projects along with curbing illegal games that are proliferating in Virginia communities."
After the law allowing these skill-based games expired, Sadler, an emporia-based NASCAR driver and small business owner, went to court and won the injunction in December 2021 which allowed the games to continue operating in Virginia.
Barley added: "If these games were important enough to support small businesses during COVID, they certainly are important now with the economic slowdown and should be allowed to continue operating in a regulated market today and in the future."
