Virginia state Senator Schuyler VanValkenburg believes the time has come to break down barriers and let bettors wager on in-state schools like Virginia and Virginia Tech. When the state approved sports betting, the law prohibited wagers on Virginia colleges and universities, a ban designed to minimize potential threats to student athletes.
The same pitch made it through the Senate in 2022 but not the House.
VanValkenburg introduced SB 124, which sits in the Senate General Laws and Technology Committee. He says the passage of time since approval of the original bill in 2021 should be sufficient to take this step.
At the time of legalization, supporters of the ban feared that athletes would experience repercussions from angry bettors, which is a nationwide concern.
It hasn’t quite worked out that way. Angry bettors in other states harass Virginia athletes but they do it online. And let’s not forget, some Virginians still place illegal wagers on in-state teams, thus subjecting players to nuisance or worse.
Lawmakers also worried about fixing games, a concern eliminated with safeguards in the regulated market. The extra protections of the regulated market outweigh any current benefits from the ban on in-state college betting, VanValkenburg said.
“It’s better to bring it under a regulatory framework where we can properly monitor what’s happening,” VanValkenburg told Sports Handle.
If the ban was rescinded, additional betting options could boost the handle. An increase in handle should flow into an increase in tax revenue for the state.
But VanValkenburg said that isn’t the key reason for his bill. “For me, it’s mostly about the regulation and the monitoring component of it,” he told Sports Handle.
The bill has been sent to the state’s Senate General Laws and Technology Committee. Virginia’s legislative session concludes on March 9, giving the Legislature just under two months to consider the bill.
