iGaming legislation in Virginia has been brought to a grinding halt despite support from lawmakers in both state chambers.
No agreement could be reached between the Senate and the House of Delegates in regard to iGaming regulation before the legislative session came to a conclusion for the year on 14 March.
House Bill 161 and Senate Bill 118 would have both made online casinos legal in the state, making Virginia the ninth US state to legalise iGaming, joining Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia.
SB 118 passed in the Senate by a 19-17 vote, while HB 161 passed in the House by a 67-30 vote.
Both bills had similarities, but they also had several differences, including where the tax revenue gained should go. Despite conferees being appointed to sort out the disagreements, no such agreement was reached before the legislative session came to an end.
As a result, iGaming stakeholders will have to wait until next year to see if the vertical will be regulated in the state.
Under HB 161, a maximum of 15 iGaming platforms could have gone live in Virginia, as up to three online casino skins each can be launched by the state’s five existing land-based casinos – run by Caesars Entertainment, Rush Street Gaming, Hard Rock International, Boyd Gaming and Cordish Companies’ Live! Casino.
A $500,000 licensing fee would have been required to enter the market, in addition to a $2m platform fee. A 15% tax would have been imposed on operator gross gaming revenue and platform adjusted gross revenue, while the Virginia Lottery would have been the market’s regulator.
An Internet Gaming Hold Harmless Fund would have received 6% of all tax revenue and would have been used to offset any loss of revenue by land-based operators attributed to iGaming. The establishment of Virginia-based live dealer studios was also part of the bill.
The bill would have also served as an online sweepstakes gaming legislative ban, as any company offering a sweepstakes game would have been violating the law and be subject to penalties, unless they were licensed as an iGaming operator.
With Virginia now off the table, the iGaming industry will now have to cast its eye to the US’ neighbour to the north in Canada, as Alberta is set to launch its iGaming market in 2026, but a go-live date for the Canadian province is yet to be determined.
