Governor Spanberger Vetoes Bill to Legalize Skill Games

RICHMOND, VA - Governor Abigail Spanberger today vetoed legislation that would legalize skill gaming.

Amid the expansion of gaming over the last decade, Governor Spanberger reiterated that Virginia continues to lack a centralized, independent entity to regulate all legal gaming. The Governor also pointed to data collected by the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC) during the window of time when skill games were allowed to operate legally in Virginia between 2020 and 2021. This data illustrates a concentration of skill gaming machines in communities with higher percentages of residents living below the poverty line, lower education levels, and higher percentages of minority residents than the Commonwealth as a whole.

"The absence of a centralized regulatory authority for gaming creates gaps in oversight that threaten the Commonwealth of Virginia's ability to provide consistent enforcement, prevent illicit activity, and protect all consumers," said Governor Abigail Spanberger. "Right now, legalizing skill gaming and introducing more of these machines into our communities would strain an already fragmented system. Legalizing these machines at this moment would also reward operators who knowingly disregarded state law for years and set a troubling precedent for how business is conducted in Virginia."

Spanberger added, "Moving forward, I will continue to engage in discussions with the General Assembly about how to make sure any expansion of legal gaming in Virginia prioritizes the well-being of all our communities."

The Governor has been consistent in her support for centralized gaming enforcement. In February, Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Katie Frazier expressed the Governor's support for a "single, dedicated entity responsible for regulating and enforcing existing legalized gaming in Virginia" during testimony before the ABC/Gaming Subcommittee. Yesterday, the Governor vetoed legislation that would require the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to call a referendum vote on a casino in Tysons Corner.

The Governor's official veto statement for Senate Bill 661:

Pursuant to Article V, Section 6 of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto Senate Bill 661, which would legalize electronic skill gaming devices in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The rapid expansion of gaming in Virginia over the last decade has outpaced the Commonwealth's ability to provide consistent enforcement, robust public safety oversight, and meaningful assessments of the potential impacts or harms of gaming in all its forms.

Senate Bill 661 would strain an already fragmented system and introduce thousands more machines without a comprehensive regulatory structure. In the absence of a single, independent, and dedicated entity responsible for regulating all forms of gaming, Virginia is not positioned to ensure compliance, prevent illicit activity, protect consumers, or evaluate and respond to community impacts or harms.

There is already data to demonstrate the ways in which an unregulated process harms communities. Notably, when electronic skill gaming devices were legal in the Commonwealth between 2020 and 2021, the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority collected data on device placement, wagers, and awards. The data clearly show that devices were disproportionately located in communities where higher percentages of the population live below the poverty line, communities with lower rates of educational attainment, and communities where higher percentages of the population are Black and Hispanic. The data enumerate the millions of dollars in wagers made resulting in millions of dollars flowing out of these communities, but without an entity in place to evaluate and mitigate social, economic, and public impacts, the Commonwealth is not positioned to expand gaming and legalize electronic skill gaming devices.

I remain committed to working with the General Assembly to ensure that any future approach to gaming expansion prioritizes consumer protection, public safety, public health, and the economic and social wellbeing of all our communities.

Accordingly, I veto this bill.

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