New Virginia Law Prevents Richmond from Ever Having a Casino

Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a death warrant on Wednesday for any lingering hopes and dreams of a casino in historic Richmond. (Image: Bob Brown/Associated Press/Alamy)

Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin ended any hopes of the city of Richmond hosting a casino location for the foreseeable future on Wednesday as he signed a package of bills that will make the city ineligible for a casino project.

The signing was widely expected, as the bills passed both the state Senate and the House of Delegates by unanimous votes.

Voters Twice Rejected Richmond Casino Plans

The bills were put forward by Delegate Betsy Carr (D-Richmond) and Senator Lamont Bagby (D-Henrico), both of whom represent parts of Richmond. The legislators put forward the bills after residents twice rejected the idea of bringing a casino to the city in ballot referendums.

In 2021, there was a close battle on the issue, with voters narrowly defeating the casino effort 51 percent to 49 percent. Virginia's northwestern neighbor, West Virginia, legalized online gambling in 2019, making it the fifth US state to do so. 

In a second vote held last November, nearly 62 percent of voters came out against a proposed casino in south Richmond that was backed by media company Urban One and Churchill Downs.

Bagby said his decision to put forward the bill eliminating Richmond as a potential casino host was directly influenced by those votes.

“I supported the casino, but the people have spoken twice,” Senator Bagby told ABC 8News on Wednesday.

Bills Strip Eligibility Language Targeting Richmond

The new bills don’t directly reference Richmond, but that’s only because the state’s code for choosing eligible cities doesn’t do so by name. Instead, it lists criteria that effectively limit the cities that are currently eligible but could ultimately make other municipalities eligible in the future.

In the case of Richmond, the bills removed language that specifically made the city eligible. Previously, there was language that made any city with more than 200,000 residents based on 2018 population estimates, with at least 24 percent of real estate exempt from local property taxes in 2018, and a poverty rate of at least 24 percent in 2017, eligible.

Richmond had a population of over 230,000 at the time, and met the other criteria. However, the new legislation removes this language. Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, and Portsmouth are still eligible for hosting, with all but Norfolk already having opened casinos.

Some local officials had strongly supported the casino effort. Richmond City Council member Reva Trammell, who represented the district where the casino would have been located, told 8News that she was unaware of the bills or Youngkin signing them into law today.

According to 8News, Trammell said she was “mad” about the last casino vote and said she didn’t understand why other potential gaming expansions, such as electronic skill games, were under consideration instead.

“What makes [skill games] safer than a casino?” Trammel asked 8News. “The casino was going to be a very, very safe place.”

Virginia lawmakers passed legislation to allow for up to five casinos in the state in 2020. Each potential casino project first needs to earn local voter approval before moving forward.