Virginia Senate passes bill to ban gambling companies from using a specific phrase in their ads

Newly proposed legislation in Virginia would see gambling companies that run ads with the slogan “Virginia is for Bettors” fined up to $50,000. The bill was proposed by a state senator who says he felt the phrase infringes on the famous tourism slogan “Virginia is for Lovers.” The vote in the state Senate last Tuesday, Feb. 8, on the Virginia sports betting bill was 40-0, and it doesn’t appear to have drawn opposition from casino operators or sports betting companies. 

Senator Tommy Norment, R-James City, said he was inspired to file the bill, SB96, after hearing a radio ad on a drive to Richmond. “Frankly, it annoyed me,” Norment told a Senate gambling subcommittee last month, as reported by Virginia Mercury. “We’ve spent a lifetime trying to market ‘Virginia is for Lovers.’ I just felt it was trespassing on it.”

However, an earlier draft of the bill that would have banned gambling interests from using the state’s name entirely, was narrowed, Norment said, after it “got some of the people in the gaming industry all excited.” The newly worded bill the state senate approved Feb. 8 was more specific in stating that usage of the phrase "Virginia is for Bettors" is prohibited to be used by a gaming business in “an advertisement in association with its product or service.”

Norment said lawyers had suggested trademark protections might already prevent gambling ads from playing off the state’s slogan. But he wanted to make it clear the phrase was off-limits. 

The Virginia Tourism Corporation has registered “Virginia is for Lovers” as a federal trademark, along with “Virginia is for Wine Lovers,” “Virginia is for Craft Beer Lovers,” and “Virginia is for Film Lovers.” Similar trademarks sought by non-government groups include: “Virginia is for Hustlers,” “Virginia is for Grubbers,” “Virginia is for Ballers” and “Virginia is for Stoners.”

The bill still needs approval from the House of Delegates, where it must pass with the same wording before being sent to Gov. Glenn Youngkin before it becomes law.