The state Senate on Wednesday soundly rejected Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s far-reaching slate of amendments to legislation that would legalize so-called skill games in Virginia and create a regulatory framework and tax structure for the electronic devices.
By a 34-6 bipartisan vote, the body sent SB 212, sponsored by Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, and Sen. Timmy French, R-Frederick County, among others, back to Youngkin’s desk for a signature or a veto. The bill had passed in the Senate by 32-8 in February and in the House by 51-45.
“You always have to know where your votes are, and I think we sent a strong bipartisan and unified message and showed the governor where we are on skill games,” Rouse said in an interview Wednesday afternoon.
But the Senate scrapped its initial plan to hold a second vote aimed at preemptively overriding a potential gubernatorial veto.
“I think 34 to 6 is pretty strong in a rejection of those amendments that we feel very good about where we are,” Rouse said. “The message is clear, but at the end of the day, who knows what this governor will or won’t do.”
Proponents of Rouse’s legislation have said that it would benefit small businesses and generate an estimated $200 million in tax revenue for the commonwealth. Critics have called the games “neighborhood slot machines.”
Skill games have existed in Virginia unregulated for decades until in 2020, when the General Assembly passed legislation banning the machines after some lawmakers expressed concern that they could pose a threat to the profitability of several planned casinos in the commonwealth.
But after the coronavirus pandemic shuttered thousands of businesses, lawmakers agreed to a one-year reprieve for operations of the electronic skill games.
“This gave us the supplemental income to be able to retain our employees,” said Munir Rassiwala, owner of Ali’s Place in Scottsville, who joined dozens of small business advocates in Richmond’s Capitol Square on Wednesday.
“We need a fighting shot, that’s all we are asking for. We’re down 20% in revenue. We’re asking for regulation and what we are getting is a bipartisan bill that goes to [Youngkin’s] desk, and then we get 75 pages of amendments. If consumer protection is so important to the governor, then why not ban sports betting?”
After the Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority’s regulatory oversight ended on June 30, 2022, businesses across Virginia operated skill games in murky legal territory.
That ended last fall, when the Supreme Court of Virginia reinstated the state’s ban on slots-like skill machines, overruling a decision by a lower court that had issued a temporary injunction blocking enforcement of the ban.
There are currently 6,000 machines in the commonwealth that were previously regulated by the Virginia ABC, plus an estimated 2,000 additional machines that are operated illegally.
“Before, we had a sticker, we had an ABC agent we were served by, we did what we were supposed to do. When they told us to take the machines out, we unplugged our machines on the day of the ban,” said Rich Kelly, president of Virginia Merchants and Amusement Coalition, or VA MAC, and owner of Hard Times Cafe in Alexandria.
Youngkin’s proposed amendments would ban small businesses from offering the electronic betting machines in many cities across the commonwealth, including Roanoke, Bristol, Danville, and Martinsville, by creating a 35-mile radius around other gaming establishments. In addition, the governor is seeking a 2,500-foot ban around schools, day care centers and churches.
“The 35-mile radius around casinos alone wipes out the entire Hampton Roads area,” Rouse said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “The 2,500-foot radius takes out the rest of the state. I know this bill faces an uncertain future if it goes back to the governor’s desk, but I stand with small businesses in every corner of our commonwealth urging the governor to do the right thing and sign this bill.”
Youngkin’s move also sparked the ire of a bipartisan group of lawmakers who believe the governor overstepped his authority when he submitted his changes to the legislation just hours before the deadline. The weekend prior, administration officials had worked on two phone calls with lawmakers from both parties to try to find common ground, but the participants in these conversations said that their input was never truly considered.
What Youngkin will do when Rouse’s original proposal lands back on his desk is unknown. But opponents of skill games are asking the governor to hold his ground and veto the bill.
Youngkin spokesman Christian Martinez said in a text message that the governor’s concerns with the bill remain and his amendments addressed the latter. “He is open to continuing discussion to alleviate issues with both perimeter provisions.”
Nick Larson, a spokesman for the advocacy group Virginians Against Neighborhood Slot Machines, said that “dangerous convenience store slots” have no place in Virginia’s neighborhoods. “We again commend Governor Youngkin for working on a more thoughtful approach and are now respectfully urging him to stand with law enforcement, faith leaders, educators, and thousands of concerned Virginians by vetoing SB 212.”
A gubernatorial veto is “the only course of action” to ensure public safety, protect vulnerable communities, and to prevent every neighborhood in Virginia from becoming a mini-Las Vegas, Larson said. “It should tell Virginians everything they need to know that skill games proponents threw a tantrum at the mere prospect of modest regulatory protections.”
The small business owners are still holding out hope for Youngkin to change his mind and sign Rouse’s bill.
“The General Assembly just passed a bill allowing skill games. The only guy who is stopping it right now is the governor, who says he is supportive of the small businesses,” said Rassiwala, the business owner from Scottsville. “If he vetoes, I hope that the General Assembly will figure out a way to help us.”