Laws searching for to permit Petersburg and Tysons, Va., to be designated as business on line casino host places cleared a Senate committee this week.
A Google Road View of the place a Virginia state Senator has proposed permitting a business on line casino resort to be inbuilt Fairfax County. The Tysons on line casino push is one among two legislative efforts this yr to designate new places for gaming. (Picture: Google)
Virginia lawmakers in 2020 approved 5 business casinos in cities needing financial revitalization. Voters in all however Richmond subsequently signed off on their casinos by way of native referendums.
Richmond is presumably achieved contemplating a Las Vegas-style on line casino resort after voters within the capital rejected a proposed growth twice. State lawmakers at the moment are jockeying the rights to deliver the on line casino license to their jurisdictions.
State Sen. David Marsden (D-Fairfax) believes a on line casino in Northern Virginia in Tysons makes probably the most sense. State Senate President Professional Tempore Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) thinks Petersburg is a greater match.
Marsden and Lucas’ respective laws, Senate Invoice 675 and Senate Invoice 628, discovered favor this week within the Senate Common Legal guidelines and Know-how Committee. Each have been directed to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee for additional consideration.
SB675 was authorized 10-Y-4-N-1A, and SB628 garnered extra help with a 13Y-2N consequence.
Tysons On line casino
Marsden says Fairfax County wants new methods to offset its dwindling property tax base created because of employers permitting folks to do business from home. Tysons is dwelling to many giant workplace buildings, a few of which stay vacant from the pandemic.
The Senator additionally thinks Virginia ought to permit residents to gamble aside from patronizing casinos in Maryland, particularly MGM Nationwide Harbor throughout the Potomac River from the nation’s capital.
I’m uninterested in paying for Maryland faculties,” Marsden mentioned in reference to Maryland utilizing its on line casino taxes to fund public training. “I believe it’s time we paid for Virginia faculties as an alternative.”
There’s loads of native opposition to a on line casino in Tysons, although the county authorities has but to take a proper place. A number of civic and authorities teams, together with the Vienna City Council, have formally opposed a gaming challenge.
Vienna is the place Marsden needs to permit the on line casino. His laws would solely permit a on line casino at a location inside a quarter-mile of an current Metro Silver Line cease that’s a part of a mixed-use growth outdoors of the Dulles airport flight path, is inside two miles of a shopping center with at the least 1.5 million sq. ft of indoor house, and is outdoors of the Interstate 495 Beltway. The invoice’s language limits the on line casino to a former auto dealership at 8546 Leesburg Pike.
Petersburg On line casino
Whereas Marsden needs a on line casino in Northern Virginia in one of many wealthiest counties within the state, Lucas says the 2020 gaming liberalization was to inject struggling cities with an financial catalyst. Petersburg is extra supportive of the state legislative push to deliver a on line casino to city, because the Metropolis Council and Mayor Samuel Parham have supplied their help for the gaming marketing campaign.
Together with Lucas’ SB628 advancing out of its first committee, separate laws discovered unanimous 15-0 help within the Senate Common Legal guidelines Committee.
Senate Invoice 345 would prohibit a licensed on line casino host county or metropolis from conducting multiple referendum asking voters to approve the gaming initiative. SB345 comes from Sen. Bryce Reeves (R-Spotsylvania). It’s a companion invoice to Home Invoice 1131 launched by Del. Betsy Carr (D-Richmond).
The payments, after all, are designed to dam Richmond from conducting a 3rd on line casino referendum.
