草莓传媒

This article was reprinted with permission from .听

At a meeting of Virginia鈥檚 advisory council on gambling addiction late last month, Del. Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax, made a bold prediction.

The battle over whether the state should legalize the reached a standstill in April due to policy disagreements between the General Assembly and Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

There have been signals the skill game legalization effort could potentially be revived by being folded into the unfinished state budget lawmakers are supposed to finish next week.

But Krizek said he doesn鈥檛 see that happening and thinks the skill game legalization effort is probably dead for the year.

鈥淚 would be very surprised if the skill game [bill] somehow gets resurrected in the budget process,鈥� Krizek, a skill game critic who chairs a House of Delegates subcommittee that handles gambling issues, told the problem gambling panel at its April 24 meeting.

With the special session fast approaching, it鈥檚 looking increasingly unlikely the House, state Senate and governor鈥檚 office are going to reach a deal on skill games. But it鈥檚 not being entirely ruled out yet, which means it鈥檚 unclear if skill games will or won鈥檛 be on the General Assembly鈥檚 agenda when it reconvenes Monday for a special session.

On Wednesday evening, Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, said he and other House and Senate members negotiating the budget haven鈥檛 come to a consensus path forward on skill games.

鈥淏ut we still have left open the possibility that some things can be resolved by tomorrow,鈥� he said.

Youngkin and leaders of the Democratic-controlled General Assembly are trying to work out a compromise between two dueling budget plans they crafted earlier this year. Neither of the proposals serving as the basis for those negotiations include language lifting Virginia鈥檚 newly enacted ban on the thousands of gambling machines installed in convenience stores, truck stops and restaurants throughout the state.

If there are any plans in the works to add skill game legalization language to the budget, nobody鈥檚 going public with details.

Youngkin鈥檚 office would not comment for this story.

House Appropriations Chairman Luke Torian, D-Prince William, Senate Finance and Appropriations Chairwoman Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, and several other lawmakers didn鈥檛 respond to requests for comment.

It鈥檚 unclear if that silence is a sign policymakers are close to giving up on the idea of a skill game deal for this year or trying to keep last-minute talks under wraps. Either way, they鈥檙e running out of time to figure it out.

Under the special session timeline state leaders have laid out, the newly negotiated budget would be unveiled Monday at the latest, which means there are only a few days left to make final decisions about whether the skill game standoff will or won鈥檛 be resolved through the budget.

In response to pleas from business owners who say their livelihood depends on the extra money from the now-deactivated gambling machines, the General Assembly passed a bill that would tax and regulate the machines instead of leaving them illegal. Opponents of the bill contend Virginia has already allowed too much gambling and shouldn鈥檛 sanction slot machine lookalikes that are trickier to regulate because they鈥檙e spread throughout hundreds of smaller storefronts instead of being confined to a few big casinos and horse facing facilities.

Youngkin a higher tax rate on the machines than what the General Assembly envisioned, tougher regulations aimed at blocking minors and gambling addicts from accessing the machines and strict geographic limitations that would ban skill games in much of the state by barring them within 35 miles of any state-licensed casino or gambling facility affiliated with horse racing.

If no deal is reached, skill games will remain illegal in Virginia under a ban former Gov. Ralph Northam first approved in 2020. There are still multiple ways the machines could become legal this year, but the lack of forward movement has convinced many Capitol observers the outlook for skill games is turning grim.

鈥淭hat one had a long and interesting life,鈥� Krizek said of the skill game bill at last month鈥檚 meeting of Virginia鈥檚 Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Advisory Committee. 鈥淚t鈥檚 now on life support.鈥�

If skill game legalization isn鈥檛 included in the budget deal, the General Assembly would have to broaden the focus of the special session in order to take it up as standalone legislation. That step could complicate efforts to have a swift special session in which lawmakers pass a consensus budget, announce they鈥檝e prevented a government shutdown and go home.

The pro-skill game coalition that鈥檚 been lobbying for the bill has gone mostly silent since April 17, when the state Senate Youngkin鈥檚 much tougher rewrite of the skill game legalization bill and sent him back the original, more industry-friendly version the legislature preferred. A spokeswoman for the Virginia Merchants and Amusement Coalition, one of the main groups leading the charge for skill game legalization, didn鈥檛 respond to requests for comment on where things stand.

Youngkin could still theoretically allow the original bill to become law, but that too seems unlikely because the governor has said he sees numerous problems with the looser regulatory structure lawmakers insisted on keeping. The governor has not yet acted on bills sent back to him last month, but the pending skill game bill could be among the next batch of vetoes he鈥檚 expected to announce late next week after the special session is over.

Proponents of the skill game legalization bill have said it includes safeguards meant to mitigate gambling addiction and prevent anyone under 21 from playing the games, but critics have argued the measures in the bill would be ineffective because they fall short of similar rules applied to other types of newly legalized gambling like casinos and sports betting.

At last month鈥檚 meeting of the problem gambling advisory council, Carolyn Hawley, a Virginia Commonwealth University professor who鈥檚 one of the state鈥檚 foremost experts on gambling addiction, said the skill game bill the General Assembly passed has set back gambling mitigation efforts by lowering the bar of what鈥檚 expected when new types of gambling are legalized.

鈥淲hen we look at all the other industries with everything that鈥檚 being accomplished in the state as far as responsible gaming and consumer protection, it eradicated all of that,鈥� Hawley said.

In a , Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin, who has pushed to keep skill games legal both in the General Assembly and by helping the industry fight the ban in court, indicated he too is unsure of what the final outcome will be now that skill games are 鈥渋n the weeds with the budget.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 all up in the air,鈥� Stanley said.

 

is part of States 草莓传媒room, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on and .