Lawmakers are considering creating a single, unified agency to oversee all gambling in the state.
The idea comes from a 2022 legislative review, which found oversight deficiencies in the commonwealth’s gaming industry.
The recently-created Joint Subcommittee to Study the Feasibility of Establishing the Virginia Gaming Commission is reviewing a plan to place a single agency over all forms of gaming in the state.
Commision would oversee all gaming except the Lottery
The Virginia legal gaming industry has exploded over the last few years. Virginia sports betting is legal, and three retail casinos are now in operation, with more to come.
Virginia online casinos could also be just around the corner. Virginians can already play online casino games through sweepstakes and social casinos.
The Virginia Gaming Commission would oversee all legal gaming in the state, except for the Virginia Lottery. It “would consolidate the regulatory powers over online gambling, charity gaming, bingo, live horse racing, fantasy contests, the state’s five licensed casinos, and 10 licenses for Rosie’s Gaming Emporium.”
A Virginia Mercury article referenced a 2022 report by the Joint Legislative Audit & Review Commission that recommended the state place gaming under one agency. That recommendation is in part due to “oversight and enforcement gaps in the rapidly expanding industry” caused by the current status of multiple state agencies regulating different parts of gaming.
Lawmaker says change would save state money
The chairman of the review committee, state Sen. Bryce Reeves, said it’s a question of money.
“Change is difficult, but it is the right thing that we need to do to get a handle on it, otherwise everybody is working in different silos. There is internet gaming or electronic gaming that happens in the cloud, and we have three different agencies trying to manage that, so there’s some areas where we can save the state a lot of money.”
Reeves also said that having multiple agencies oversee gaming has caused confusion. “Consolidation is going to help us with enforcement and compliance,” Reeves explained. “If you talk to prosecutors today, they don’t even know what they are looking at.”
According to the Mercury, Reeves’ interest in the issue stems from a prior General Assembly subcommittee’s revelation that “showed corruption in the state’s charitable gaming industry was rampant due to inadequate oversight and conflicts of interest. “
Virginia-based consulting firm Guidehouse provided the initial version of the plan currently under review. It is working on a final report for the committee to vote on in November. The upcoming 2025 General Assembly session would then introduce legislation to initiate the changes.
