Online casino bill narrowly passes Virginia Senate
A bill aiming to legalize online casino gambling narrowly advanced in the Virginia Senate on Monday, surviving an initial defeat just one day before a legislative deadline.
Senate Bill 118, introduced by Senator Mamie Locke, would legalize regulated internet casino games such as blackjack and slot machines, with the amended Senate bill including a launch date of July 1, 2027.
The bill first failed in the Senate after a 19–20 vote on February 16. Although after a motion to reconsider the measure passed 19–17 the same day, three senators who had voted against it did not vote on the second tally.
Supporters argued the proposal would generate significant revenue for the state, with estimates from a fiscal impact review showing that online gaming net revenue over the first five years would total US$4.1 billion.
Of this amount, revenue to the commonwealth would be US$1.1 billion, with US$818 million in tax revenue distributed among the Modern Public Education Fund, the Gambling Regulatory Fund, and the Problem Gambling Treatment & Support Fund.
However, those opposed to the bill raised concerns about accessibility and addiction.
According to WVTF, Senator Bill Stanley had rescinded his initial support for the measure, saying, “The Senate being asked to look at that device, that glowing rectangle that already has a chokehold on every young person in this state, and say, ‘You know what this needs? You know what this smartphone needs? Blackjack, slots, roulette, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from every bathroom, every bedroom, every school bus in Virginia.”
The vote also showed bipartisan divisions.
Five Democrats joined 15 Republicans in opposing it, while four Republicans sided with 15 Democrats in support. The amended bill will now be considered by the House, and another tight vote is expected.
Charlotte Capewell brings her passion for storytelling and expertise in writing, researching, and the gambling industry to every article she writes. Her specialties include the US gambling industry, regulator legislation, igaming, and more.
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The Backstory
A narrow revival in Richmond
Virginia’s online casino effort did not look viable days ago. The same bill now headed to the House first stalled in a Senate gaming subcommittee on a 3-4 vote, a setback that underscored how split lawmakers remain on internet gambling. The clock was working against backers. Lawmakers faced a tight mid-February crossover deadline to move bills to the opposite chamber. Yet a late reversal on the Senate floor, capped by a motion to reconsider and a razor-thin second tally, pushed the proposal across the line. The chamber’s stumble-and-surge arc highlights an issue that cuts across party and regional lines: whether the revenue case and consumer protections can outpace fears about problem gambling and the impact on new brick-and-mortar casinos. The amended bill includes a long runway to launch in 2027, a concession to opponents who argued the state needs time to build guardrails.
From study hall to center stage
This year’s push follows months of groundwork. In December, Sen. Mamie Locke introduced a precursor measure as lawmakers debated whether to create a Virginia Gaming Commission and move beyond the Lottery’s current remit over sports betting and lottery games. A joint subcommittee convened hearings to test both the upside and risks of internet casinos, taking testimony on projected tax revenue, potential job displacement and mental health. Inside that forum, experts warned about heightened addiction risks among young men and flagged rising debt and suicide concerns tied to gambling access. Supporters countered that Virginians already wager on unregulated sites and that a legal market could redirect play to a taxed and monitored system. The hearing series, captured in our report on Virginia’s continuing debate on igaming regulation, set the contours for the Senate floor fight: a debate over how fast to move, who should regulate, and how much to invest in treatment and enforcement.
Money, oversight and the retail casino question
Fiscal estimates have been central. Analysts project billions in net revenue over five years if Virginia legalizes online slots and table games, with more than $1 billion flowing to the commonwealth. That promise of new money for education, regulation and problem gambling programs buoyed support, especially in regions where retail casinos have yet to open or are early in their ramp. But skeptics pressed two core risks. First, whether easy access on phones could worsen addiction and widen losses. Second, whether online options would cannibalize play at the state’s new casinos in places like Portsmouth and Danville, where local jobs and tax plans rely on foot traffic. Subcommittee members also questioned whether the Virginia Lottery, which regulates sports betting, could stretch to a broader mandate, or if a stand-alone gaming commission is necessary. Those oversight questions featured in the subcommittee defeat that temporarily derailed SB 118, and they are likely to resurface in the House.
Signals from other statehouses
The political calculus in Richmond is unfolding against shifting currents elsewhere. In New York, senators voted overwhelmingly to outlaw dual-currency social casinos, saying the gray-market sites target minors and undercut the path to a regulated model. The Senate’s passage of a crackdown, covered in our story on the New York sweepstakes casino ban, shows one approach: constrain unregulated products while broader online gambling remains unresolved. Meanwhile, states that long resisted any expansion are advancing sports betting. Hawaii, one of the last holdouts with no legal gambling, moved an online-only bill through six committees and the House with healthy margins. The measure would license at least four operators, tax revenue at 10 percent and assign oversight to the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Our report details the bill’s latest step out of the Senate’s tax committee in Hawaii’s sports betting push. In Oklahoma, a narrow Senate vote kept a mobile betting bill alive by tying a license to the NBA’s Thunder, a design aimed at balancing tribal sovereignty and the governor’s warnings against monopolies, as covered in Oklahoma’s Senate passage. These moves matter for Virginia. They show lawmakers pairing expansion with strict parameters, tightening enforcement on unregulated play and, in some cases, assigning oversight beyond traditional lottery agencies.
Why timing and design now carry outsized weight
The Senate’s pivot to a 2027 launch date acknowledges that structure may decide the bill’s fate as much as the vote count. The subcommittee pause centered on who would police a new market, how to calibrate license fees and the scale of insider protections such as deposit limits, timeouts and marketing restrictions. In our earlier report on the subcommittee setback, lawmakers said legalization appears inevitable but hinges on stronger guardrails and clarity on the regulator. Recent hearings on forming a gaming commission, examined in Virginia’s ongoing regulatory debate, suggest any compromise could bundle iCasino with a broader oversight revamp. That sequencing would let the state recruit staff, finalize technical standards and run a public education campaign before launch. It would also give retail casinos and localities time to plan for any shift in foot traffic. The risk for sponsors is that a longer runway invites fresh headwinds in future sessions, particularly if problem gambling trends worsen or regional casinos seek protections.
The stakes as the bill crosses the Capitol
The House will pose another close test. Expect amendments on regulator authority, tax rates, license caps and revenue earmarks for education and treatment. Opponents will emphasize accessibility and addiction. Proponents will argue that a legal, taxed market is better than the status quo of offshore play and that Virginia risks losing ground to neighbors that have already legalized online sports betting. The national pattern points to incrementalism: tighten gray markets, expand sports betting with conditions, then consider iCasino paired with heightened oversight. New York’s move against sweepstakes casinos, Hawaii’s advance toward a first legal product and Oklahoma’s razor-thin vote all underscore how slim margins and targeted designs can swing outcomes. For Virginia, the question is not only whether online casinos clear the House but whether lawmakers lock in a framework sturdy enough to manage growth, mitigate harm and protect existing investments in brick-and-mortar venues. The Senate’s turnabout ensures that debate now moves from theory to statute.
