The effort to legalize skill games might be in trouble, even if some of the machines are up and operating across Virginia.
Queen of Virginia is the name of a game that looks similar to a slot machine that can be found at convenience stores across Virginia. Some of them were recently modified so they no longer accept cash, although even those machines are illegal according to a memo from Attorney General Jason Miyares. Governor Glenn Youngkin says reaching a deal to legalize them has become a tall mountain to climb.
"This is taking up way too much time and air out of the rooms and taking away from focuses on real things that Virginians need, and we really view these as a regressive tax scheme," says Rhena Hicks, executive director for the nonpartisan advocacy group Freedom Virginia. "They shouldn't be in Virginia, and they really just prey on hardworking people."
The attorney general's memo may have declared skill games to be illegal, but that doesn't mean prosecutors will necessarily take action.
"I can say as of this date there has been no case to my knowledge that has been presented to my office regarding any of these machines," says Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor. "And instead, we have various entities who are taking definitive positions without any guidance from the General Assembly or a court."
A spokeswoman for Pace-O-Matic says the company looks forward to defending the legality of the games in court and ultimately working toward a legislative solution.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
