-
Casinos for you
Virginia Lottery Board Rubberstamps New Casino Regulations
By Jeff Osienya Jul 27, 2021 IndustryAfter months of deliberation, the Virginia Lottery Board has given its initial approval to a set of proposed permanent regulations that will preside over five brick-and-mortar casinos planned for construction in the Old Dominion.Last week on Wednesday, July 21st, the Virginia Lottery Board announced that it approved a set of proposed rules for governing Virginia’s upcoming casino gambling sector. This announcement comes after the board okayed initial emergency casino regulations earlier in the year, on February 3rd. Through the four months plus period, the board has been building on the initial emergency proposals and finally came up with a workable set of rules.
Now that the Lottery Board has given the regulations the green light, the proposed permanent regulations have been sent to Governor Ralph Northam’s office for official sign-off. Following Gov. Northam’s approval of the proposed permanent set of rules, the next phase will be a 60-day public comment period before the Virginia Lottery Board gives them the final go-ahead.
Kevin Hall, the Executive Director of Virginia Lottery, shared a few words after the approval, saying:
Quote“The Lottery’s gaming compliance department and office of general counsel have been diligently working to set up the regulatory and licensing framework to ensure casino gaming in Virginia is secure and transparent. In this role, we see the Lottery as the public’s watchdog, confirming that the law and regulations are followed, and the integrity of casino gambling is protected.”
Form a Total Casino Ban to Construction of Five Brick-and-Mortar Casinos
Originally, the Old Dominion was one of the few US states that had a blanket ban on casinos. Interestingly, even with a total casino ban, electronic skill game machines used to take advantage of a legal loophole and existed in the Commonwealth for a decade. However, the skill games were recently banned after the law was changed to fix that ambiguity specifically.
Following the skill games prohibition, which came into effect on July 1st, caused an uproar among proponents of the electronic game machines. They argued that Virginia lawmakers and Gov. Northam were in cahoots to edge out small businesses who operated the gaming machines in favor of the upcoming casino industry. The matter is currently in court, with electronic gaming machine operators hoping to get their way by exploiting yet another legal loophole.
Back to the approved permanent casino rules, one of the key elements of the gaming regulations is the construction of five large casinos in different locations in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As we speak, there are already four brick-and-mortar casinos proposed for construction in Portsmouth, Norfolk, Danville, and Bristol. Rush Street Gaming, Pamunkey Indian Tribe, Caesars Entertainment, and Hard Rock International respectively are the contracted operating partners of the gaming premises. Voters in the Old Dominion approved the construction of these four casinos in the November 2020 ballot.
As for the fifth and final casino planned for construction in Richmond, voters haven’t given their vote on the matter yet. However, the question is expected to appear in the upcoming November 2021 ballot, and there’s a good chance that it will receive voter approval.
At the moment, two casino proposals are already underway. In May, the Pamunkey Indian Tribes announced that the land-based casino planned for Downtown Norfolk would bear the name Headwaters Resort and Casino. The first phase of the project is expected to be completed by 2023. The City of Portsmouth City Council, on the other hand, gave Rush Street Gaming the required approval to start working on their Rivers Casino later in the year. Rivers Casino is planned for a late 2022 or early 2023 debut date.
You might also like