In Virginia, a bill proposed by state Senators Louise Lucas, Lywood Lewis and Bill Carrico, has been stalled by the Senate Finance Committee’s approval of an amendment introduced by Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment, which would stop any local referendums on casinos until a comprehensive study is done. Norment’s amendment states the Lucas measure allowing casinos in Portsmouth, Norfolk, Richmond, Bristol and Danville cannot take effect unless the legislature considers and passes it again in 2020. The Lucas bill would have allowed those cities to hold referendums on casino approval this November.
Norment’s bill would allow the Pamunkey Tribe to pursue the federal land-trust process for a casino in Norfolk. The Lucas measure would have allowed the tribe to build commercial casinos in Norfolk and Richmond, forgoing the years-long federal process.
Under Norment’s proposal, no referendum on casinos can happen until July 1, 2020. Prior to that, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission would prepare a study on whether to allow casinos in the state. In early January, Governor Ralph Northam included a line in his budget bill designating $175,000 for a gambling study, due November 1, out of concern over how expanded gambling would impact the state lottery. A spokesman from Northam’s office said he hasn’t taken a stand on gambling, but observers believe commissioning a study indicates gambling legislation could be tabled this session. It will end February 23, with a “reconvened session” starting April 3 to consider the governor’s amendments or vetoes.
Norment said, “We don’t intend to make everybody happy. I’m not anti-gaming. I just think that the approach that has been offered can be improved in a more deliberate manner.”
Norment’s measure also would require that casino owners spend at least $100 million on their properties “to make sure we don’t get some honky-tonk kind of situation,” he said. The bill now goes to the full Senate floor for approval.
Pamunkey Chief Robert Gray said, “It seems like it’s a good thing for everyone involved. We’re seeing it move forward, and the tribe also wants it done correctly.” Portsmouth Mayor John Rowe also said he’d prefer no delay on a casino in his city, but regarding Norment’s proposal, “I understand his logic completely,” Rowe said.
The Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology also moved forward in a 9-3-1 vote several sports betting bills. They include SB 1238, which would create the Virginia Sports Betting Department and legalize sports betting, and SB 1356, which would rename the lottery the Virginia Lottery and Sports Wagering Commission. Lawmakers who support legalizing sports betting said pressure is coming from West Virginia, which launched sports betting last summer, and the District of Columbia, which legalized sports betting in December.
State Senator Chapman Petersen, sponsor of SB 1238, said, “Yes, there is a sense of urgency for me. We’re losing business, we’re losing tax revenue, we’re losing entertainment dollars, so yeah, my goal is to keep it in state.”
Petersen’s bill would tax sports betting revenue at 10 percent tax rate and would ban betting on college sports, although he said he might consider allowing betting on “big-time” college football and basketball. Other legislation would allow only mobile sports betting and would limit sportsbook licenses to five.
State Del. Mark Sickles, another sports betting bill sponsor, noted, “There is a chance, even though there is widespread support for this, that Speaker Williams James Howell may call for a 1-year moratorium on sports betting.”
The legislature also recently approved allowing historical racing machines at Colonial Downs racetrack that was closed in 2014 and purchased in 2018 with plans to resume racing this summer.
