Rich Goszka, a staff representative with the Southern States Police Benevolent Association, sent a letter to Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and members of the Virginia General Assembly urging the opposition of any attempts that aim to legalize skill games.
Skill games are similar to slot machines but purportedly require skill to operate.
Goszka said he and the Police Benevolent Association believe that skill game devices “bring crime, prey on vulnerable communities and bring inherent risks to the safety and well-being of Virginia communities.”
Goszka went on to cite two publications – an October 2022 Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) report and a Spectrum Gaming Group report – to further his argument that skill games should “remain permanently banned in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
“An October 2022 Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) report found that Commonwealth’s attorneys from multiple localities report that crimes such as assault and robbery have increased at establishments with skill games,” Goszka wrote.
“The idea that our commonwealth can legalize and safely operate thousands of these deceptive slot machines – the equivalent of hundreds of mini casinos – is unrealistic. A report by Spectrum Gaming Group, prepared for the Office of Attorney General, Commonwealth of Virginia, found that were these machines to be “installed on casino floors in Virginia, or any other state, they would be required to meet the standards and regulations that govern legal gambling in that state”,” Goszka added.
Goszka went on to explain how current legislation being debated at the state level would allow skill games to “operate in convenience stores, bars, restaurants and truck stops,” noting how the venues would be “unable to meet the robust security, oversight and consumer protections that existing legal brick and mortar gaming establishments have in place.”
“To be clear, these machines will place an undue burden on our law enforcement officers by bringing more crime into our communities,” Goszka said. “They should remain permanently banned in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
