Virginia has vastly expanded gambling over the past few years, and another new form, iGaming, was debated at a committee hearing in Richmond Tuesday morning.
iGaming lets a player bet from their phone— slot machines, poker, roulette. The practice is currently illegal in Virginia, but that hasn’t stopped people from playing.
To that end Delegate Marcus Simon presented a rough draft of a bill to legalize the practice. He says the state could rake in tax revenue off the estimated $5 billion the practice is expected to generate over the next five years. He also suggested it could cut down on illegal online gaming.
“Sort of starve the bad actors out of business by providing a legal, regulated and taxed alternative that’s more consumer friendly,” Simon told the Joint Subcommittee to Study the Feasibility of Establishing the Virginia Gaming Commission.
His bill would force existing Virginia casinos to partner with online providers to provide the service with some local accountability. It would also charge a licensing fee to help get enforcement off the ground.
Simon also reiterated a view shared by many legislators on the issue of gambling: “This is revenue not getting accessed by the Commonwealth, we’re getting zero percent,” he said. “And this doesn’t create the online gambling market. They’re already doing it.”
Keith Whyte is President of Safer Gambling Strategies. He said he’s neutral on legalizing iGaming, but states like New Jersey, where it is legal, have instituted new tools that can help people avoid problem gambling.
“Players could be encouraged, and even incentivized, to take control through deposit limits, time limits, budget calculators and personalized activity dashboards,” Whyte said of harm reduction strategies that could be implemented.
There are also concerns about how more gaming could impact existing options.
Virginia’s Moose Lodges ran the only legal form of gambling in the Commonwealth for decades before skill games and casinos opened up. They’ve long expressed concerns about the impact it's had on their fundraising, among other issues. Moos Lodge spokesperson Brooke Archambeau said Tuesday Virginia is already poorly regulating the gambling it has legalized.
"Virginia needs to get its own house in order before considering a new and risky form of gaming like iGaming," she said in a statement.
But Dave Rebuck, the past Director of New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement, said the garden state was the first to legalize iGaming and it hasn’t hurt competitors’ profits.
“iGaming was complementary and helped the land-based casinos,” Rebuck said, suggesting the link to existing, land-based casinos helped all members of the industry.
But Brianne Doura-Schawohl, a gambling and mental health consultant who opposes legalization, argued legislators shouldn’t rush to okay the practice.
“Do you make this decision to legalize based upon the people breaking the law right now?” Doura-Schawohl asked. “Or do you believe this is what’s really best for the Commonwealth and what the people want.”
Legislators said they’d likely need to set up a new state gambling authority before they add to Virginia’s gaming options. A bill to create that entity will likely be a top priority in the 2026 legislative session.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
