Virginia Wants To Be Rid Of Skill-Based Gambling Machines In 2021

• Virginia legalized gambling terminals for one year, which will end in July 2021.
• Governor Ralph Northam currently has no intention of renewing these machines to stay legal and instead will ban them from the Commonwealth when the bill expires.
• In November, five towns in Virginia will be given the opportunity to vote on having legal casinos placed in their cities for people all over to gamble on legal casino games.

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia lawmakers are looking to get rid of machines that offer residents a chance to gamble throughout various locations in the Commonwealth.

These skill-based gaming terminals were made legal through House Bill 881. However, a stipulation within the bill allowed them to be legal only until July 1, 2021, at which point, they’d need to be legalized again or banned altogether.

These terminals can be found in all types of establishments, from restaurants to truck stops to convenience stores.

The machines were placed in all qualified areas as of July 1, 2020, allowing them a total of one year to do business.

Why The Ban?

VA HB 881 was seen as a means to an end. Lawmakers were not keen on the idea of making these gambling machines legal but saw them as a way to hold them over during the financial crisis in the Commonwealth created by COVID-19 by adding a new revenue stream.

It has also allowed the facilities they are in to stay afloat. The revenue brought in by these terminals has helped in bridging the budget deficit, which was made bigger once the Coronavirus Pandemic struck.

In the month of July alone, the Virginia Department of Taxation earned $12 million from the terminals. Of that money, 84% went directly to the Coronavirus Relief Fund while the remaining funds went toward local governments (12%), the Problem Gambling and Treatment Fund (2%), and the Virginia ABC (2%).

Each machine costs the operator $1,200 a month for one-player games. Games can go as high as six players which results in a fee of $7,200 a month to be paid to Virginia.

There is a total of 10,291 gaming machines in the Commonwealth that were provided by 87 distributors.

Prior to House Bill 881, these terminals could be found around the Old Dominion but not in such a high volume. Discussions were taking place to ban them based on the fact that they slither through the cracks by passing as legal being that they are technically a game of skill therefore not seen as “gambling” as gambling is defined as games of chance which are prohibited in Virginia.

Nonetheless, Governor Ralph Northam maintains that once the bill expires, the legality of the machines will end and they will be gone. However, at the moment, they are proving to be fruitful for relieving the financial burden caused by the Coronavirus Pandemic.

What’s Next?

If these machines do get taken away in July of 2021, there is still hope for legal gambling in Virginia.

The November ballot will have five cities, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Richmond, Danville, and Bristol, all vote on whether or not they’d like to have a casino placed in their town. Should any of them vote in favor of this, casinos with all of the best games from slots to table games will be legalized for Virginia within these areas.

The Old Dominion is only one vote away from real gaming establishments gracing their state and the question of whether or not these gaming machines will officially be banned will not sting as much if there are actual casinos to visit and gamble on a multitude of games for gambling enthusiasts.