What’ s The particular Timeline Regarding Legal On the internet Casinos Within Virginia?

Virginia online gambling has flourished since it first introduced in 2021. With more than twelve platforms live, it’s a busy market for online gambling.

On the retail end of things, Virginia has made lots of progress recently. Five brick-and-mortar casinos have been authorized. One has been delayed, but four are moving forward, with Caesars Danville set to become the next SE TILL ATT DU ÄR casino to open its doors.

With the Virginia casino industry thriving, an essential question remains unanswered: Should Virginia online casinos be legalized?

Vendor alert: It’s a big ol’ “MAYBE.” Predicting the legislative success of any state’s online casino efforts is nearly impossible. In the US, we’ve seen promising bills stall and player-friendly legislation advance in committee.

Whether Virginia will legalize online casinos remains an unanswerable quandary. However, we can look at the changes so far to make an educated guess.

Virginia’ ring online casino message so far

Check with Virginia lawmakers about online casinos, and you’ll probably hear crickets. They’ve been pretty quiet on the subject. The state’s existing gambling platforms are already a lot to regulate, with casino revenue exceeding $35 million in April and sportsbooks taking in more than $500 million in March bets.

Additionally, there have been issues and challenges in the system. Rivers Portsmouth, one of the newly established casinos, was fined $275,000 for violating the law. The casino has taken steps to address the problems, but the fine reflects an industry that’s still finding its footing.

All of this is to say, the introduction of Virginia online casino gambling doesn’t even have a prologue yet.

What will it possibly take to achieve VA to be able to legalize via the internet casinos?

To begin with, state lawmakers would need to propose a bill aiming to legalize online casinos. The bill would need to go through several approvals before reaching the desk of Gov. Glenn Youngkin. This, of course, is an extremely simplified summary. Any casino bill would likely take months or years to make it to Youngkin’s desk.

Even then, it’s unclear whether Youngkin would support online casinos. He recently signed legislation supporting new problem gambling treatment efforts. Given his concerns for Virginia’s youth, online casinos may not be on his radar at this point.

However, having a robust framework in place to protect gamblers could be another reason to allow online casinos. With the ability to protect players, online casino platforms could be much safer.

One final factor is the current Virginia gambling operators. The state has an existing pool of operators that could easily launch online casinos if approved. These include DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars, FanDuel, BetRivers, and more.

Stress from the neighbours?

If anything could encourage Virginia to make progress with online casinos, it’s the surrounding area. Neighboring West Virginia launched online casinos in 2020. Nearby New Jersey and Pennsylvania have long been experienced online casino markets, both generating astronomical revenue for their respective states. Michigan is the latest player on the scene, with that state’s legalization taking place in 2021.

Only one legal casino state borders Virginia, but that could be enough to give the state a little push toward legalization. Pressure from bordering states historically isn’t the only reason for a new market to legalize, but it certainly can’t hurt. Ohio legalized sports betting after Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia did. Illinois followed in Iowa and Indiana’s footsteps.

We haven’t seen the same domino effect for online casinos yet, but could we? Perhaps, especially considering the benefits of being a late-arriver.

Is the copycat process work?

Being late to the party has its advantages. Namely, you can learn from the successes and mistakes of existing markets. Virginia can use another state’s framework to get started, then adapt the rules and regulations to better fit its own environment.

For example, here are the online casino fees and tax rates for operators in the four legal states:

West Virginia: $250,000 license fee with a $100,000 five-year renewal, 15% tax on gross revenue.

Pennsylvania: $4 million to $10 million license fee with a five-year renewal of $250,000, taxes vary by game:

14% peer-to-peer, including poker.

16% table games.

54% slots.

36% sports betting.

New Jersey: $100,000 application fee, which can be applied toward a $400,000 license fee if approved. Annual renewal of $250,000. 15% tax on gross gaming revenue and 5% investment alternative tax.

Michigan: $50,000 application fee and initial license fee of $100,000, five-year renewal fee of $50,000. Graduated tax based on adjusted gross receipts:

Less than $4 million: 20%.

$8-10 million: 22%.

$10-12 million: 24%.

$12 million or higher: 28%.

Virginia (8.6 million) is closest in population to New Jersey (9.5 million). The Garden State can be a good example-setter for the country.

In short, the structure for online casino operations can vary greatly from one market to the next, even with only four states live. Virginia can learn a lot from its neighboring competing markets. Because the US allows gambling regulation on a state-by-state basis, Virginia can use the structures above as an example or start from scratch.

By spark in order to flame?

If Virginia were to become the next state to legalize online casinos, it would be the southernmost state to do so. As online gambling continues to grow beyond traditional gambling, which is currently the fastest-growing gambling sector, Virginia could potentially trigger a domino effect and inspire more legislation along the east coast.

While this is speculation, history has shown that markets tend to follow the trends set by others, proverbially “keeping up with the Joneses.”

Whether or not Virginia becomes a pioneer in a new wave of online casino legalization in the United States, we will keep you updated on all developments here.