A bill currently heard in the Virginia General Assembly by Sen. Mamie Locke and Del. Marcus Simon would allow casino gambling on smartphones, tablets and laptop computers. If passed this bill will have a devastating effect on Virginia’s populace.

A Feb. 4 guest column (“Igaming is here. Virginia should regulate it.”) co-authored by Locke and Simon provides arguments to support passage, while not mentioning any of the detrimental effects igaming will have on our economy and our fellow Virginians. To this end we will rely on a report by The Innovation Group, the same think tank that our legislators have depended on for the past seven years, for factual information regarding gaming in the commonwealth. The Innovation Group is highly regarded and has done gaming studies for more than 100 jurisdictions across the United States.

The lawmakers claim that passing igaming legislation will create jobs, protect local economic interests and collect critical tax revenue for public services. While they attempt to promote their bill in a positive light, they fail to report the negative financial and social costs that will result if igaming is legalized.

It is disputable that igaming will “protect local economic interests.” Data suggests otherwise. It is estimated igaming would generate $272 million in tax revenue by 2029. At the same time The Innovation Group predicts a 16.3% decrease in foot traffic to Virginia’s five existing brick-and-mortar casinos. The same holds true for Colonial Downs’ eight historical horse racing (HHR) facilities. This will result in a loss of local gaming tax revenue by an estimated $70 million.

Their opinion piece also claims igaming will create hundreds of jobs. What they don’t report is that because of the loss of foot traffic in the casinos and HHR facilities, there will be an estimated loss of more than 2,000 jobs in the casinos and surrounding businesses, resulting in significant losses in local and state payroll taxes. Combine this with the negative economic effect on sales taxes from non-gaming activity such as restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues, and with local suppliers of goods and services, and those estimated tax losses are an additional $50 million.

And let’s not forget about the lottery. Igaming will have a devastating impact on lottery revenues, costing the lottery an estimated $220 million in its first year, a total that is expected to rise over time. That’s a lot of much needed money for education that will no longer be available.

Lastly, let’s talk about problem gaming disorders. A Harvard University study determined that igaming is 10 times more addictive than traditional forms of gambling. Estimated costs to mitigate the problems created by igaming is $324 million a year.

When you combine the losses in tax revenue and the Virginia Lottery, it adds up to more than $340 million, while estimated revenues from igaming total $272 million. That results in a $68 million loss, and that’s without factoring in the hundreds of millions of dollars it will cost Virginia to mitigate the problem gaming disorders igaming will create.

Keep in mind the revenue split in the bill is 85/15 in favor of the igaming industry, meaning that while Virginia will get $272 million, igaming operators will keep $1.54 billion of Virginians’ hard earned money for themselves.

Perhaps that explains why the industry has made more than $3 million in campaign contributions to our legislators in an attempt to buy political influence. If igaming would be such a good thing for Virginia, why spend $3 million to convince our legislators to legalize it?

The answer is it’s not. Hopefully we have enough members of the General Assembly who will vote their conscience and refuse to unleash this much harmful piece of legislation on the people of Virginia.

Tad Berman of Richmond is the founder of Virginians for Integrity in Horse Racing and Casino Gambling. He was appointed in 2023 as liaison to the Joint Subcommittee to Study the Feasibility of Establishing the Virginia Gaming Commission.

https://www.pilotonline.com/2026/02/16/column-igaming-not-a-good-bet-for-virginia/