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As lawmakers and regulators weigh whether to legalize Virginia online casinos, one prominent casino operator made it clear during a recent subcommittee meeting that it doesn’t want online gaming anywhere near the Old Dominion.
In remarks before the Joint Subcommittee to Study the Feasibility of Establishing the Virginia Gaming Commission, Rivers Casino Portsmouth General Manager Antonio Perez described online casinos and sweepstakes casinos as threats to Virginia’s brick-and-mortar casino industry.
“There are serious threats looming in Virginia that the industry isn’t immune to,” Perez said. “The most immediate are skill games and iGaming — essentially a casino on your phone. They threaten the great industry you helped create here.”
In addition to his critiques of online gaming and sweepstakes casinos, Perez emphasized the economic impact Rivers Casino Portsmouth has had on the local community.
Rivers Casino GM: Online casinos put jobs at risk
Perez continued his argument against Virginia online casinos and sweepstakes casinos by citing what he called negative effects in Pennsylvania, a top-five gaming market where Rivers and its parent company, Rush Street Interactive, operate multiple casinos.
“At Rush Street, we’ve seen this play out in other states,” he said. “In Pennsylvania, since iGaming began, casino jobs and revenue are down, while illegal sweepstakes sites compete against us.”
Perez argued that while customers may move from land-based to real-money online casinos, the jobs don’t follow them.
“The good news we share today may not be permanent if new forms of gaming erode revenue and jobs,” Perez said. “Still, I’m optimistic — this legislature has built a strong, growing brick-and-mortar industry that’s been a boon for Virginia communities.”
Free market realities hit Virginia casinos
After Perez finished his statement, Del. Luke Torian offered a pointed response, pointing out that free markets are a double-edged sword: They allow companies to make money off their business ideas but have to face competition when they do so. “This isn’t going away,” Torian said, holding up his phone to symbolize online casinos.
“You have to figure out how the gaming industry will survive as a community. It’s already accepted in Pennsylvania — it’s here. If you have solutions, we welcome them.”
Future of Virginia online casinos still unclear
Virginia lawmakers legalized sports betting, the online lottery, and land-based casinos in 2020, allowing residents in select cities to vote on whether they wanted a casino in their community. Voters in Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth approved casino developments.
Online casinos, however, were left out.
In the past few years, lawmakers have introduced multiple bills to legalize Virginia online gaming, but none have passed. Two bills failed at the end of 2024, and lawmakers have since put the issue on hold as the state debates whether to launch a permanent gaming commission. The Joint Subcommittee to Study the Feasibility of Establishing the Virginia Gaming Commission is set to sunset by the end of the year.
