Virginia’s General Assembly Passes Bills To Legalize Gambling
- VA HB 896, VA HB 4, and VA SB 384 would require the signature of Governor Ralph Northam to become law.
- The biggest gaming bill of them all is VA HB 4 which would make numerous casino games legal in the Old Dominion.
RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia’s General Assembly passed three bills during an emergency session on Sunday that would make gambling in Virginia legal. VA HB 896, VA HB 4, and VA SB 384 are the three bills that were passed during the hearing.
The final step toward legalization is receiving the signature from Governor Ralph Northam and after that would be resident approval.
The Bills And What They Offer
Both VA SB 384 and VA HB 896 are bills that would make sports betting legal through the Virginia Lottery. The main bill as it pertains to the legalization of gambling is VA HB 4.
VA HB 4 would make casino gaming in Virginia legal for state residents and visitors. The Virginia Lottery Board would oversee the gambling market for the Commonwealth. Eligible cities within the bill that would be allowed to open casinos would be Portsmouth, Richmond, Norfolk, Danville, and Bristol.
The cities would need to vote on the November 2020 ballot to choose whether or not they are in favor of making casino games legal in their area.
Any voter that feels that allowing gambling and casinos to open in their cities would become a problem can rest assured that VA HB 4 has implemented a voluntary exclusion program.
This means that any person that believes they may develop or already have problems with addiction could put their name on the list. Doing so would ban them from all gambling activities within state lines. They would be denied entrance into casinos as their names would be listed and given to all establishments that offer legal gambling.
The casinos that could open would be allowed to offer their patrons a number of casino games under VA HB 4. These games include baccarat, blackjack, twenty-one, poker, craps, dice, slot machines, roulette wheels, Klondike tables, punchboards, faro layouts, numbers tickets, push cards, jar tickets, sports betting, pull tabs and anything else that the Gaming Board classifies as a casino game.
Should residents in these cities vote in favor of legalizing gambling come November and the Governor sign VA HB 4 into law, the Commonwealth of Virginia could have legal gambling come 2021 and a whole new list of activities for the people to engage in.
VA SB 384 and VA HB 896 would also make gaming legal but in the grand scheme of things, it's VA HB 4 that is the all-encompassing bill for gambling legalization.