Virginia Sports Betting Coming Closer To Reality
As 2018 turned the corner, Virginia sports betting seemed like it would take a while for both lawmakers and citizens to come to an agreement. Based on a shift in attitudes, however, a regulated industry may be closer than we think.
A Post-PASPA Virginia
After the Supreme Court overturned PASPA making wagering on sports in the US no longer illegal, many states were quick to jump on the bandwagon.
Surrounding states like Delaware, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey—which alone generated close to $1B in less than six months—all have an industry up and running already which prompted Virginia to take action on the matter.
Virginia lawmakers attempted to squeeze a lot of detail and information out at the end of 2018, but it took one pre-filed bill from Representative Mark Sickles to start the trend of pre-filing more gambling bills from other legislators.
The 2019 Virginia Sports Betting Bills
Sickles’s bill was filed in November 2018 and was the first to enter into the 2019 Virginia session which starts January 9th. This bill, VA HB 1638, * http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?191+ful+HB1638 * has the Virginia Lottery overseeing the regulation of sports betting. Virginia has no casinos or major infrastructure within the state to currently support the industry, but the bill would allocate five licenses costing $250,000 for a three-year permit.
This bill also dictates that betting on both collegiate and professional sports are allowed, with the exception of Virginia college programs and youth sports and anyone 21 or older may participate in the hobby.
While similar, Senator J. Chapman Peterson pre-filed his own version of what sports betting in Virginia should look like a few weeks later. Wanting it more localized, his bill, SB 1238, * http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?191+ful+SB1238 * sees license costs at $5,000 for the first three years and then only $1,000 to renew. This version also limits who can apply for licenses however as they must be at a racetrack or off-track site or in a locality that approves betting in a referendum.
Chapman decided this method because it seemed the most obvious.
“We have an existing infrastructure of racetracks and off-track betting or OTBs, and I would make all of those sites automatically eligible to host sports betting”, he said. “There is a sense of urgency for me as we’re losing business, we’re losing tax revenue, and we’re losing entertainment dollars.”
SB1238 would make betting on all college and youth sports prohibited—not just Virginia programs—and would also lower the legal age to 18. This version of the bill leaves no room for an online wagering system as Sickles’s bill did as it clearly states that it does not authorize the Sports Betting Department to allow wagering on an app, mobile device, website, or any other platform via the internet.
A third bill was also pre-filed a day before the session started from Representative Marcus Simon. This bill, HB 2210, * http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?191+ful+HB2210 * is solely based around regulating an electronic sports betting platform.
There are no licenses to be permitted with this bill as the Virginia Lottery would oversee the online sportsbook. Wagering on college and youth sports would be prohibited under this bill while only betting on professional teams would be allowed for those 21 and older.
What To Expect Moving Forward
While all of these bills differ only slightly, they still must go through the deliberation process where amendments can arise and further change the bills. It is likely that legislators will look to combine the two house bills from Sickles and Simon while the Senate will discuss solely based around Chapman’s.
Virginia session will begin Wednesday and end in thirty days, per Virginia legislative limits. With much to discuss and limited time to do it, lawmakers will be working expeditiously to bring the industry into fruition.
With the surrounding states already profiting and others likely to join in the game, legislators will do everything in their power to finalize a decision this session with hopes that sports betting in Virginia will be up and running soon.
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