Lucas’ original bill called for a study \u2013 but required a November 1 completion date, which is just four days before the 2019 election.<\/p>\n
“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 \u2026 what the potential implications of gaming would be,” Norment explained.<\/p>\n
Delegate Chris Peace (R-District 97) introduced legislation this week that would bypass voters for the time being and simply order a study on what impact gambling would have on the state. “You don’t want to pick the winners and losers before they have a chance to study the framework,” Peace detailed.<\/p>\n
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Peace’s legislation would initiate a review of the commonwealth’s existing gaming industry \u2013 which is primarily its lottery and forthcoming Colonial Downs parimutuel racetrack equipped with historical racing machines \u2013 as well as proposals to legalize commercial and tribal casinos, sports betting, and online gaming.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
With lawmakers at odds, the safe bet might be that the casino issue won’t be settled until the General Assembly reconvenes in April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Virginia casino debate in the Richmond capital needs to be settled by Saturday, which is the scheduled adjournment for the General Assembly until its spring session. The odds don’t seem to be in favor of proponents who are urging state lawmakers to send Governor Ralph Northam (D) a gaming bill before the recess. Senate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":98856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,13],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Virginia Casino Legislation Race Against Saturday Deadline<\/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