The Virginia General Assembly approved a unified bill that would legalize controversial skill games throughout the commonwealth on Friday. Critics, who argue the devices would institutionalize gambling throughout Virginia, have called for Governor Glenn Youngkin to veto the bill.
After the Virginia House of Delegates and State Senate passed wildly differing versions of legislation to legalize skill games, the General Assembly agreed on combined legislation that limits bars and other places that sell liquor to four machines and truck stops to 10 machines. Lawmakers also seek to impose a 25 percent tax rate on proceeds generated by the machines.
Skill games aesthetically resemble slot machines, but their proponents argue they are not gambling devices because the results depend on the user’s skill, and as a result wins and losses are not solely dependent on luck.
The devices were previously deemed illegal by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, who tasked local law enforcement with the task of seeing skill games machines disabled and removed.
Opponents of the skill games legislation include Virginians Against Neighborhood Slot Machines, a group formed to lobby against the bill.
In a statement provided to the press, it said the legislation is “bad policy that would bring an unprecedented expansion of gambling to every corner of Virginia without even attempting to provide basic guardrails including local referendums, legitimate background checks, security or problem gambling regulatory requirements.”
Their statement followed remarks by Governor Glenn Youngkin that prompted State Senator John McGuire (R-Goochland) to express his desire for the legislation to be stopped and Virginia radio host John Fredericks, who publishes The Virginia Star, to call for the governor to veto the bill.
“Governor Youngkin is right to have serious concerns over legislation that would turn Virginia’s historic main streets into gambling corridors and bring more crime to Virginia communities,” said a spokesman from Youngkin’s office last week.
After news of the Youngkin administration’s concerns about the bill, McGuire told Fredericks he was “praying and hoping it will be stopped” during an appearance on The John Fredericks Show.
Fredericks questioned Youngkin’s political career could be damaged if the governor allows the legislation to become law, citing widespread speculation he could be planning a presidential campaign for 2028.
“How do you go to Iowa in 2028 and you signed a bill that allowed gambling, unregulated, unsupervised, no security, preying on the children and the unprivileged, on every single neighborhood in Virginia?” Fredericks questioned, then declared, “I think if he doesn’t veto this, it’s an Iowa presidential killer for Glenn Youngkin.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
