Virginia online casino legislation advances after responsible gambling amendments
SB118 passes on a 9-6 vote due to changes, including operators using automated triggers to identify customers with problematic gambling behaviors
Virginia has taken a step closer to legalizing online casino after lawmakers in the state Senate advanced SB118.
The bill, first introduced at the start of January by chief patron Mamie E Locke, was moved forward with a 9-6 vote.
That came after a sub-committee on January 23 voted 3-4 for it not to be sent to the state’s full General Law and Technology Committee.
The eventual approval came following changes to the bill in regard to responsible gambling, which involved operators encouraging the use of harm-minimizing measures by players.
These included automated withdrawals and automated triggers to identify and manage the accounts of players showing problematic gambling behaviors.
Removed from the bill was the ability for customers to use pre-paid credit cards.
The bill will now be placed in front of the Senate Finance Committee, and progress to the Senate floor if passed.
Should the bill be signed into law, retail casinos aiming to operate online would be required to file separate notices to the director of the Virginia Lottery for each platform, with a maximum of three per operator.
Each brand would pay a $2m fee, which would be deposited into the Internet Gaming Platform Fee Holding Fund and be put towards the creation of a regulator.
Operators would pay an initial licensing fee of $500,000 and the tax rate would be set at 15% of gross gaming revenue (GGR).
Of that tax, 5% would be given to the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund and 6% to the Internet Gaming Hold Harmless Fund until January 1, 2030.
At the start of January 2026, House Bill 116 was introduced by Virginia delegate Marcus Simon with the aim to legalize icasino in the state.
Maine became the eighth US jurisdiction to legalize icasino earlier this month.