A Monday report suggests Governor Glenn Youngkin could veto legislation legalizing skill games throughout the commonwealth as a casualty of his fight to build the Potomac Yards arena and bring the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards to Virginia.
Noting the governor’s comments last week declaring Democrats’ vision for Virginia is “let’s tax everybody as high as we possibly can, let’s put a pot shop on every corner, and let’s put a slot machine in every 7/11,” the Washington Post reported the controversial skill games bill could be vetoed due to its association with State Senator L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth).
Governor @GlennYoungkin on his vision for Virginia:
“My vision is more jobs, more opportunity, more prosperity…make sure we reduce the cost of living and we invest in those critical elements that support that.” pic.twitter.com/sNovULGDn1
— Team Youngkin – Spirit of Virginia (@TeamYoungkin) March 15, 2024
Lucas, who the Post noted “championed” the skill games bill but was previously against the machines, successfully blocked legislation that would have created a Virginia body to oversee the financing for the arena in the Virginia Senate. After similar legislation passed the House of Delegates, the senator used her position to block it again in the Senate.
Despite Lucas’s defeats, the governor is now widely expected to make a final attempt at the arena project by amending the Virginia budget in April. However, it remains unclear whether Democrats would work with him.
Lucas first indicated she wanted toll relief in Hampton Roads in exchange for the arena, but she remained defiant after Youngkin reportedly offered three times what she requested. Lucas also indicated she expects Youngkin to sign her legislation instituting a $15 per hour minimum wage by 2026.
State Senator Creigh Deeds (D-Charlottesville) and Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Mount Vernon) additionally told the press they offered to cooperate on the arena in exchange for the governor’s signature on legislation to regulate the sale of marijuana within the commonwealth but said the governor’s office declined their offer.
News that Youngkin may veto the legislation comes as an organized campaign formed against the bill, Virginians Against Neighborhood Slot Machines, warns the legislation “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.”
Skill games resemble slot machines, but their proponents argue they should not be considered gambling because wins and losses are partially determined by the player’s skill rather than luck.
John Fredericks, the publisher of The Virginia Star, recently predicted on The John Fredericks Show that Youngkin’s political career will be jeopardized if he fails to veto the bill.
He questioned, “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 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].
