-
Casinos for you
Virginia’s Ban On Skill Games to Take Effect On July 1st
By Jeff Osienya Jun 28, 2021 LegalityElectronic skill game machines are set to be outlawed in Virginia on Thursday. The slot-like terminals used to operate in a grey area but were legalized last year, for one year, to help small businesses and the state win pandemic relief revenue.For some time in the Commonwealth of Virginia, slot-like terminals popularly known as skill games had been operating in a sort of a grey area of state law. As a result, the so-called skill games are widely accessible in truck stops and convenience stores across the Old Dominion but had never been formally regulated.
Last year, state governor Ralph Northam introduced legislation to regulate these skill games by making them legal and imposing a tax on them. That way, the state would kill two birds with one stone – assist struggling businesses to rack up more profits and generate tax revenue for state coffers. This was an emergency measure on the governor’s part as both local businesses and the state economy had suffered due to the negative impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.
However, the legalization of these games was a temporary measure meant to last for just one year. On Thursday, July 1st, the one-year window that had legalized the skill games will officially expire, effectively making them illegal in the state.
Apart from the plight of small businesses, the most ironic bit of the impending ban of skill games set to take effect later this week is that the said machines collected over $70 million for Virginia’s COVID-19 fund. Lawmakers supporting the legalization of skill games in the Old Dominion tried to bring forth a bill that would extend the licensing of the slot-like terminals for one more year, but their efforts bore no fruits. The bill never made it out of the committee.
Small Business Owners Take to Court Ahead of the Ban
Fearing for the looming financial shortfall that their business will incur, small business owners offering the electronic skill games in Virginia have already moved to court to try and fight the ban. Among them is Hermie Sadler, a former NASCAR driver who has been offering the skill games at his truck stop in Emporia for the last 25 years. A week ago, he went to court, armed with Senator Bill Stanley, a Republican politician representing Virginia’s 20th district in the state assembly, as his attorney for the case.
This lawsuit claims that the ban would unfairly favor other types of “actual gambling” games in Virginia that depend on chance over the slot-like terminals, which instead rely on skill. Further, the complaint alleges that banning electronic skill games would deny Sadler and other business owners their constitutional rights. Part of the suit states that: “The General Assembly and Governor cannot pick and choose winners and losers in such a manner, especially when free speech and due process rights are at issue,”
Additionally, according to the lawsuit, Sadler’s Emporia truck stop and his two other businesses in Petersburg, which offer a total of 41 electronic skill games, would end up losing up to $750K in annual net revenue. The suit further indicates that the income Sadler generated from his business thanks to the slot-like terminals cushioned him from the economic losses he sustained during the pandemic-induced lockdown periods.
After filing the lawsuit on behalf of his client on Monday last week, Stanley voiced his grievances at a news conference outside the Capitol in Richmond, saying:
Quote“What we did in the General Assembly was wrong. They have chosen to pick on the small businessman because they’ve decided that skill games are unseemly, and they’re not. They are the backbone of what has allowed these small businesses to thrive in a pandemic. They have helped them hire and renovate and keep their employees working. In spite of the fact that we’re opening our doors to gambling in the commonwealth, we feel like as small-business operators that we’re being unfairly targeted and picked out."
Senator Stanley also criticized the state for deliberately squeezing out small businesses from the equation of legalized gambling. The state legislature okayed the construction of casino resorts in five cities back in 2019, which are expected to open their doors by 2023. He added:
Quote“They’re doing away with skill games for us to pave the way for the casinos coming in two or three years. To me, I don’t think that’s fair. If you’re going to legalize gambling in [Virginia], then you’ve got to rip the band-aid off. You’ve got to legalize all gambling and picking and choosing winners and losers is un-American and un-Virginian. We should let the free-market system work. If Virginia is going to legalize gambling, as it has, then it should allow skill games to be a part of that equation, and not limit who can play based upon their zip code or station in life.”
A Legal Loophole Could Potentially Keep Skill Games Afloat
As the ban nears, some legal analysts claim a loophole in Virginia’s law might still allow the electronic skill games to prevail. Apparently, a bill that was overwhelmingly passed in May by both legislative chambers in Virginia may have unintentionally given the skill games licenses a one-year extension.
The said bill had been drafted to simplify the prosecution of illegal gambling in the Old Dominion and stipulates a penalty of up to $25K for illegal gambling operators. The section of the bill that could have possibly extended licenses for skill games reads:
Quote“…any organization or person that conducted bingo, network bingo, instant bingo, pull tabs, seal cards, raffles, duck races, Texas Hold ’em poker tournaments, or regulated gaming […] on or before February 1, 2021, may continue such activities only at those locations until June 30, 2022.”
Per the section above, electronic skill games still fell under the state’s definition of regulated gaming as of February 1st, 2021. Therefore, some legal experts interpret this as approval for a stay of execution of skill game licenses for another year. However, while admitting that the wording is open to interpretation, the bill’s chief sponsor, Delegate Don Scott, a Democratic politician representing the 80th district, refuted this version of analysis according to a local news report.
Either way, as the legal battles against the ban continue, it’s hard to say how the fight will end. Only time will tell.
You might also like