Virginia House, Senate Disagree on Casino Study

A Virginia House committee replaced a Senate bill requiring voters in Bristol, Danville, Portsmouth, Norfolk and Richmond to decide if they want casinos. The House version, sponsored by Del. Chris Peace (l.), removes references to voter referendums and instead authorizes a Gaming Study Commission to “analyze the current gaming industry” and present a report to the General Assembly by November 1.

The Virginia legislature had until Saturday, February 23 to determine how the state will study casino gambling and sports betting. The House and Senate each introduced bills to study the issue after the Senate introduced a bill to allow residents in Bristol, Danville, Portsmouth, Norfolk and Richmond to hold voter referendums on whether they want a casino in their area. Economic development studies In Bristol, Danville and Portsmouth estimated casinos would create more than 15,000 jobs and generate $100 million in local tax revenue by the seventh year.

Earlier in the week, the House Rules Committee voted 12-5 to replace SB1126 with a version establishing a gambling study commission. SB1126 had been sponsored by state Senator Louise Lucas and state Senator Bill Carrico and approved by Senate 28-12.

Carrico said a casino “would be a huge game changer for Southwest Virginia and for the city of Bristol.” However, he said if voters reject a casino, “there’s no reason to spend money on the study. I never wanted to do a statewide referendum on these issues because I don’t want Northern Virginia telling Bristol what they can have,” Carrico said. Changes to his original bill, SB1126, require the voter referendum to be held after the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission completes the study, before November 1, 2019. 

Carrico said the Senate study would at least keep Bristol’s plans “on track. It takes 18 months to build a facility. Knowing that we’re moving in that

direction the developers can still look at how they would approach that.”

The modified Senate bill would have directed the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to conduct the review of gambling and report its findings by November 1, 2019. It also would have established the framework for oversight by the Lottery Board and set up a time frame for referenda in Bristol, Danville and Portsmouth, the cities listed in the original bill, plus Norfolk and Richmond where the Pamunkey Indian Tribe is considering locating a casino.

The House substitute bill, HB2321, introduced last month by state Del. Christopher Peace, removes all references to a voter referendum, Lottery Board oversight, proposed tax rates and distribution of revenue. The substitute bill would establish a 15-member Gaming Study Commission to “analyze the current gaming industry” and present a report to the General Assembly by November 1.

Supporters of the Bristol Casino said in a statement, “This is all part of the legislative process, and the House and Senate will need to work out their differing versions of the legislation. When the General Assembly adjourns February 23, we are optimistic that the final outcome will provide Bristol, and the other impacted communities, a way to continue the momentum in making these projects a reality.”

The House version of the bill has not yet been heard in the Senate. The House bill, HB2321, would include a study without a voter referendum. Bill sponsor state Del. Chris Peace said, “You don’t want to pick the winners and losers before they have a chance to study the framework.” Peace said his version of the bill would allow a “holistic approach” to a study. “The House plan calls for a comprehensive study of all gaming, not just the bills introduced this session,” Peace said.

A separate commission would oversee the study, also to be completed by November 1, 2019, which would review financial and social impacts of gambling.