Virginia’s Gambling Bills Fall Victim to Infighting
Virginia Department of Transportation
Several promising-looking attempts to expand or reform gambling in Virginia seem likely to fail due to legislators’ inability to get on the same page. The same pattern is playing out across iGaming and retail casino efforts, and the latest twist in the saga involves local government in Fairfax County.
There are three important changes to Virginia gambling law being considered this year. Firstly, to legalize online casinos and poker. Secondly, to decide which body should regulate commercial gambling in the state. Finally, to authorize a retail casino referendum in Fairfax County, after Richmond voters twice rejected a proposal to put the state’s fifth casino in their municipality.
On all three fronts, both the Senate and House of Representatives have proven willing to pass a bill. However, in each case, the two chambers passed different versions of the proposed legislation and have been making slow progress in reconciling those differences.
The Fairfax casino proposal now faces an additional challenge, as the Chairman of the County Board has said he won’t call the referendum if the bill passes in its current form.
“I am not going to subject my residents to vote on something that we know is a bad deal for them,” Jeff McKay told local media outlet WTOP News.
State and County Square Off in Fight Over Money
At the heart of the issue is a fight over the distribution of the financial proceeds from expanded gambling. State legislators are proposing a 75/25 split in favor of the state. McKay says that the county will then be left to deal with “all the problems” a casino would create.
Opponents of the Fairfax Casino have pointed to Atlantic City’s struggles as an example of the long-term consequences of reliance on casino revenue. Meanwhile, critics of the existing casinos in Virginia say they have not brought the promised visitors and stimulus to other parts of their local economies.
Virginia’s coffers are healthy for the time being. However, outgoing Republican governor Glenn Youngkin cut taxes last year as one of his final acts in office. State lawmakers now want to find new revenue streams before the other shoe drops.
The House seems more inclined than the Senate to address the concerns of the Fairfax County Board. After the Senate passed the referendum bill, the House passed an amended version that would require any bidder to commit to funding the construction of emergency health, fire, or policing facilities to help mitigate the added risk.
Senators unanimously voted against that version.
Virginia Senate’s State-Centric Policymaking May Torpedo Bills
This difference in stance between the House and Senate is a consistent feature across all this year’s bills.
In the case of iGaming, the main difference between the two bills is that the House added clauses to address concerns coming from the retail sector. Worries about job losses at retail casinos are one of the main counter-arguments against allowing online gambling.
Although the two chambers have brought their respective bills mostly into alignment, a separate issue related to regulation could still sink the effort. Currently, it’s the Virginia Lottery Board that regulates the retail casinos. The Senate passed a bill that would further formalize that role by changing its name to the Virginia Lottery and Gaming Board.
The House sent back an amended bill that would instead create an independent Gaming Commission. That’s the model preferred by most states with retail casinos and the one endorsed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger. In fact, she has indicated that she may not sign an iGaming bill until an independent regulator has been created.
The Senate, however, voted down that proposal by a wide margin. An independent Commission would put the government at arm’s length from the day-to-day of gambling policymaking, and Senators appear reluctant to relinquish that control.
The problem for Virginia appears to be that the Senate is amenable to gambling expansion and reform, but only on its own terms. And those terms are at odds with what the House, the Governor, and local governments want.
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