Virginia Online Casinos

The success of online lottery sales and sports betting demonstrates strong consumer demand in Virginia.

Residents wager over $7 billion annually via sportsbook apps and spend roughly $3 billion online on lottery tickets. These figures indicate Virginians would embrace online casinos with similar enthusiasm.

Additionally, legalization would appeal to a younger demographic and create a significant new revenue stream for the state.

A coalition of industry advocates, gaming companies, and lawmakers actively support online casino legislation in Virginia.

Multiple casino operators already invested in Virginia support online gambling because it allows them to leverage their brands and customer loyalty beyond their physical properties.

Similarly, commercial online gambling brands are lobbying to regulate Virginia online casinos by highlighting success stories in other states.

Their lobbying efforts provide research and funding to make the case. For instance, stakeholders provided optimistic data to Virginia lawmakers on the topic during hearings for SB 827 in 2025.

The National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) has also contributed by developing model online gambling legislation to guide states like Virginia.

SB 827 likely drew from such models, as it resembles frameworks used elsewhere. Having model legislation and case studies from other jurisdictions at hand gives lawmakers confidence that they can safely and effectively regulate online casinos in Virginia.

In 2022, the American Gaming Association estimated that illegal offshore casinos earn $350 million in annual gross gaming revenue from Virginia residents.

Legalization could redirect this activity into a regulated market, benefiting American companies and providing the state with a substantial source of tax revenue.

Moreover, legal online casinos in Virginia would divert players from unregulated offshore operators to licensed platforms with robust consumer protection and responsible gambling mechanisms.

One of the strongest indicators that Virginia will pass legislation authorizing online casinos is its simple legislative path.

That’s because Virginia does not have a Constitutional prohibition against gambling expansion. In many states, legalizing online casinos requires constitutional amendments and voter approval via statewide referendums, processes that introduce uncertainty and delays.

Notably, Virginia did not need constitutional amendments to legalize land-based casinos and online sports betting.

Should lawmakers reach a consensus on regulating online gambling, they can achieve it via the standard legislative process.

Additionally, Virginia does not have complex tribal issues to consider. Issues surrounding tribal sovereignty and gaming compacts (which often include substantial revenue payments to the state) have caused years-long delays in other states.

Some of Virginia’s most vigorous opposition to online gambling comes from casino operators themselves.

For example, the Cordish Companies, the company responsible for Petersburg’s $1.4 billion casino project, has consistently opposed legalizing online gambling in Virginia, Louisiana, Maryland, and other states, citing potential revenue loss.

The Virginia Lottery has also raised concerns about revenue impacts. In a fiscal analysis of SB 827, the Lottery noted:

• The Virginia Online Lottery has been a massive success, now accounting for over half of all lottery sales
• Data in other states has shown that annual lottery growth is higher in states with iLottery only compared to states with both iLottery and iGaming
• The Virginia Lottery anticipates that legal online casinos will reduce net revenue for the Commonwealth by negatively impacting online lottery sales and casino gaming taxes

The governor’s office and some lawmakers have expressed reluctance to expand legal gambling in the Commonwealth.

For instance, Governor Youngkin opposed reauthorizing skill gaming machines, citing a need for stronger oversight and indicating a preference for curbing unregulated gambling over expanding legal gambling indiscriminately.

Additionally, lawmakers shelved Virginia’s 2025 online casino bill to allow further study and consideration of a unified gambling regulatory body.

Virginia’s fragmented gambling regulatory framework poses a unique challenge.

Unlike most states with a single gaming commission, Virginia distributes oversight across multiple agencies:

• The Lottery Board regulates casinos and sports betting in Virginia
• The Racing Commission oversees horse racing wagering in Virginia
• The Dept. of Agriculture manages charity gaming and DFS in Virginia

Before launching online casinos, Virginia would need to ensure that the designated regulator, likely the Lottery Board under SB 827, has the capacity, expertise, and funding to oversee a sophisticated iGaming industry.

The Lottery has estimated that SB 827’s proposed $1 million license fee would not fully cover regulatory costs, potentially requiring additional funding from gambling tax revenue or operator fees.

Additionally, crafting regulations from scratch (covering everything from game testing to reserve auditing) is a non-trivial task. In states with online gambling, regulatory rulemaking has taken months or longer.

This means significant homework and consensus-building are required before a bill regulating Virginia online casinos can comfortably pass, which is an obstacle in itself.

Consolidating Virginia’s regulatory approach has become a legislative priority. The governor’s office and numerous lawmakers have suggested that the legislature prioritize the creation of a consolidated gaming commission to streamline oversight.

In 2025, the governor urged the legislature to focus on “building a world-class regulatory body” rather than “one-off bills pushed by special interest groups.”

Although the governor has not directly addressed recent Virginia online gambling efforts, these efforts appear to be secondary to broader regulatory reforms.