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Will casinos be legal in Virginia?
The governor signs on the gambling bill
 
 

 
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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