Virginia legislature approves casino and sports betting legislation

Virginia state lawmakers approved Wednesday a series of gubernatorial amendments to legislation allowing sports betting and casinos in five Virginia cities, setting the stage for a November 3 public vote on casino gaming.

Meeting in a historic reconvened session, the Virginia General Assembly approved amendments proposed by Gov. Ralph Northam, finalizing legislation to license one casino to operate in Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Richmond, if approved by voters of each city. The primary amendment directs the state’s portion of gaming tax proceeds from casinos to fund public school construction and repair statewide.

Members of the Virginia state Senate assembled in the Virginia Science Museum and wore masks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bristol Herald Courier reports. They voted 30-9 with no discussion in favor of the amendments, and a few hours later the Senate approved the House version 29-1. The 100-member House of Delegates, meeting outside beneath a tent in Capitol Square, voted 66-29 to approve the companion House Bill 4. Delegates cast the final vote later, approving the Senate bill 64-29.

Lawmakers also approved Northam amendments to allow sports betting legislation — 64-30 in the House and 27-13 in the Senate — which will allow sports betting to become legal in the state.

In other votes, the House voted 77-17, with one abstention, to allow skills games, or gray machines, to remain in operation until July 2021, after the governor promised to veto any future legislation to extend the industry’s life any longer. The Senate also approved that amendment 32-8, following a lengthy debate. These amendments will impose a $1,200 monthly tax on each machine to generate $150 million over the next year for a COVID-19 relief fund to help small businesses and others survive the economic shutdown from the pandemic.

As for the casino legislation, Bristol City Manager Randy Eads said the city appreciates the governor and General Assembly for their work and consideration. “Years from now we can look back at history and say this is the day Richmond recognized that fiscally struggling localities needed something different in order to prosper. This legislation will now allow Bristol to control its own destiny,” Eads said.

Bristol business leaders Jim McGlothlin and Clyde Stacy proposed to build a casino resort with hotel and convention center at the Bristol Mall property on Gate City Highway. The project was first announced in September 2018 and, last November, Hard Rock International announced it would be the operator and an investor in the project.

Two steps spelled out in the legislation must occur before the Hard Rock project can be inserted into the referendum language. The city is currently seeking proposals to select a preferred gaming operator to operate a casino in the city. Written proposals must be submitted to the city manager by May 8 with the City Council scheduled to vote on the subsequent selection. Once an operator is formally chosen, they will be reviewed by the Virginia Lottery Board to determine they are qualified. If approved by the state, the Hard Rock project would be listed on the November referendum.

Unlike the other five cities, the legislation dictates gaming tax revenues from a Bristol casino would be shared with the 12 counties included in the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Bristol service district — Bland, Buchanan, Dickenson, Grayson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise and Wythe.

The legislation establishes the “Regional Improvement Commission” which would be tasked with distributing the money. Commission members would be appointed to two-year terms by each of the local governing bodies of each county.