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Will casinos be legal in Virginia?
The governor signs on the
gambling bill |
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The gambling laws in the United
States are different from state to state, while the residents of Nevada can
enjoy various ways of gambling, there are strict restrictions on any form of it
in states like Utah, or Hawaii. The gambling law in Virginia is somewhere in
the middle of the spectrum. While the major forms of gambling are illegal,
there are some forms of it that are completely legal and enjoyed by the people
in the state. The overall gambling industry is slowly growing in Virginia and
in recent years there have been multiple attempts to change the law in favor of
the gambling industry. However, all previous attempts have failed. Although,
Online gambling is not allowed by the state gambling law. However, the law
makes it possible for the people in Virginia to gamble. While it is not
possible to have a landbased online casino the law does not cover the offshore
casinos. Thus, people in Virginia still have an opportunity to choose the
casinos from the offshore online casino rating on
Slotsjudge and try their luck.
Casino & Live Poker
As of today any kind of commercial, riverboat or tribal casinos are
illegal according to the Virginia state law. Live poker, another popular form
of gambling is also prohibited. The residents of Virginia that want to try
themselves in gambling have few options to do so. People in Virginia can enjoy
the Pari-mutuel wagering which is still legal in the state. However, the bill
that tried to make historical racing machines legal had failed in 2012.
Charitable gaming, social gambling, and state lottery
One
of the legal forms of gambling in Virginia is charitable gaming. The set of
laws that are still active dates back to 1995. The law allows residents of
Virginia to play traditional or instant bingo, raffles, pull tabs and seal
cards. Holding poker tournaments for charity purposes is prohibited by law.
As a resident of Virginia, you can conduct poker game at your home or
other private places. However, you still have to follow a set of rules, while
playing poker you cannot have an operator who collects any sort of rake and the
games cannot be regular events.
Virginia has a long history and
tradition of state lotteries. In fact, Virginia was the first state to hold a
lottery in the United States and fund the settlement at Jamestown in 1612. The
lottery is completely legal in the state and is overseen by the State Lottery
Department.
However, the gambling law might soon change in Virginia. At
the beginning of the year, the
Washington Post reported that opinions about legalizing
casinos in the state were raising. According to the post, proponents were
stating that casinos will increase the tax, boost tourism and create job
opportunities in the economically struggling cities of Virginia. On March 22,
the Governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam gave his signature to Senate Bill
1126 (SB 1126). The bill opens doors to legalized gambling houses in the state.
With this event Virginia is closer than ever to seeing casinos on its lend,
however, there is still a lot to be done. The bill allows host cities to hold
votes to authorize casinos at their territory. Due to the voting schedules, the
earliest possible date to have a referendum will be November of next year.
Until that time, the state will have to conduct a comprehensive study to
determine the social impact and possible outcomes of casino legalization.
However, even if the casinos will be legalized in Virginia,
only five cities will be authorized to host cazinos. Three of
them - Danville, Portsmouth, and Bristol are considered to be economically
challenged cities. Other two - Richmond and Norfolk are potential sites for
casinos to be operated by Pamunkey, the native Indian tribe. However, it must
be approved by the local referendums first. |
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