Virginia Introduces Two New Sports Betting Bills

The Commonwealth of Virginia, popularly nicknamed “Mother of Presidents” because eight U.S. presidents were born there…

…is officially more than ready for sports betting legislation.

The state of Virginia Senate Committee on General laws introduced two new sport wagering bills that break down the whole legislation plan step-by-step.

First Bill

Back in 2016, The Government of Virginia legalized Daily Fantasy Sports…

…and now they wish to eight U.S. states that have already got sports betting up and running while gaining a serious amount of cash from the revenue.

Senator, Chapman Peterson, introduced bill, SB1238, where he proposes the state to enact a new organization called, Virginia Sports Betting Department, that would regulate betting on sporting events.

Also, according to the bill, online and mobile sports wagering would not be permitted, so placing the bets would be possible only in-person and in land-based venues. Racetracks and off-track betting facilities would also be able to acquire the license.

If some citizens wish to be excluded from participating in sports betting, they will be able to do so, while those suffering from gambling addiction would have the opportunity to seek help in facilities…

…that would be funded by Problem Gambling Treatment and Fund, as stated in the bill.

The Revenue

When it comes to the costs, the plan is to give out three-year licenses that would cost $5000…

…and the operators will have the obligation to renew their license for $1000 every three years.

Taxes on an operator’s gross revenue would be at 10%, while the betting department would get 2.5% as a cost for retaining the programme.

According to this bill, gambling will not be allowed college or youth sports.

The Other Bill

In the bill SB1356, Senator Frank Wagner, who was the one that introduced it, it is stated that the Virginia Lottery Board should be renamed to Virginia Lottery and Sports Wagering Commission.

The lottery would be in charge exclusively of online betting, while the bill doesn’t mention anything about the operators’ provision when applying for the license.

Also, according to the bill, the Commission should have the ability to operate a digital platform that would accept wagers on sporting events…

…including college events, but with the exception of Virginia-based teams.

The other measures are more or less similar to the ones in the previous bill.

Sports Betting in the USA

In May of 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the federal ban that prohibited sports betting for the past 25 years. Many states introduced their bill, while only eight of them have officially started offering this type of betting to their wagers.

The state of Virginia’s Senator Chap Peterson, mentioned back in November 2018, that he is extremely up for legislation of sports betting…

…and that Delegate, Mark Sickles, shares his opinion since they both are advocates of this form of gambling.

He also mentioned that since their neighbors, West Virginia, already did the same, the “Old Dominion” should be no exception.

Casino Legislation

In January this year, Virginia’s Senate committee approved a bill which gives the permission to several cities in the state to gain licenses for the construction of casinos. But, gamblers will have to wait another two years because the cities won’t be able to request their licenses immediately.

Source:

“Two new sports betting bills progress in Virginia”, igamingbusiness.com, January 31, 2019.