A new amendment in proposed sports betting legislation in Virginia means that proposed land-based casinos in the state would not be counted against the limit on sports wagering permits.
House Bill 1847 (HB1847) was approved by the Virginia House Subcommittee on Gaming ahead of the market’s launch.
Sports betting in the Mother of States was approved last year and is expected to go live in the near future.
Legal sports betting in Virginia: what will it look like?
Online sports wagering will be permitted, with commercial operators welcome to apply for a licence.
HB1847 was introduced earlier in January. Now that it has been passed, the language in the legislation has changed. Proposed land-based casinos will now not be included in licensing limits.
The bill was put forward by Delegate Mark D Sickles, who also created the sports betting bill that was approved in April 2020.
There are not currently any open casinos in Virginia, since land-based gambling in this respect only passed through law two years ago.
Currently, five casinos are planned for the southeastern state. These will be constructed in Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Richmond. All land-based venues will be allowed to offer sports betting.
As it stands, 12 online operators will be approved for licences in Virginia.
Small changes to the bill
When HB1847 was approved, the House General Laws Committee’s Gaming Subcommittee voted 7 for and 1 against.
A clause mentioning the definition of youth sports as any game where either most players are aged under 18 or one player is either at high school or lower was removed from the bill.
When will online sports betting in Virginia launch?
According to US iGaming giant FanDuel, online sports betting in the Mother of Presidents will go live today. The company announced this via Twitter, though no official time was given.
Regulators in Virginia have already approved numerous licences for operators, affiliates, and suppliers.
Players in Virginia will be able to bet on a wide range of sports both in the US and beyond. The rules surrounding college sports, however, are a little less clear.
If a team involved is based in Virginia, then players will not be allowed to place bets on the event. However, they can if the teams taking part are not from the state. Similar rules to this are already enforced in New Jersey and Illinois.
Virginia’s decision to regulate sports betting was its second attempt. Efforts were originally made in 2019 but fell through.
