It just struck me as being rather unusual that we were taking an informative study that was going to have absolutely no bearing whatsoever on informing the voters or informing us as a legislative body what the potential implications of gaming would be in Virginia,” Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment (R-James City) explained.<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n“I’m not anti-gaming; I just think that the approach that has been offered can be improved in a more deliberate manner,” he concluded.<\/p>\n
Language in the casino bill passed by the Senate mandates, “The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shall conduct a review of casino gaming laws in other states and report any findings and recommendations.” It additionally requires “that no referendum shall be held \u2026 prior to the publication of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission’s findings.”<\/p>\n
Sports Betting Delayed<\/b><\/h2>\n
Lucas’ legislation includes sports betting in what constitutes “casino gaming.” That means regulated sportsbooks won’t arrive in the Commonwealth for at least a year, should SB 1126 continue to be lawmakers’ preferred path forward in deciding whether to end the state’s long opposition to gambling.<\/p>\n
In a recent release, the American Gaming Association (AGA) said half of the 50 US states will have \u2013 or be considering \u2013 sports betting this year.<\/strong><\/p>\nSports gambling is already operational in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia \u2013 four states that are within close driving distance of Virginia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Virginia casino bill has passed the state Senate, but the legislation first requires a comprehensive study on commercial gaming and the impact it would have on the Commonwealth to occur. Senate Bill 1126, sponsored by Sen. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth), received 28 “yeas” to 12 in opposition. The bill would earmark commercial casinos for Bristol, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":97743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,18,61,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Virginia Casino Bill Passes State Senate, Requires Study Before Vote<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n