RICHMOND, Va. -- The Virginia Lottery has launched an online microsite that provides information and transparency as the agency begins developing regulations for expanded gaming.
Last month, the Virginia General Assembly authorized the Virginia Lottery Board to regulate casino gaming in the Commonwealth.
The location of casino gaming establishments is limited to eligible host cities that meet specified criteria: Portsmouth, Richmond, Norfolk, Danville, and Bristol.
The microsite includes “important information about the rulemaking process and provides estimated timelines for when expanded gaming will become available for Virginia consumers.”
Casino gaming
• The site includes important information about materials required to be submitted by eligible host cities and their designated gaming partners for the Lottery’s preliminary review.
• The casino legislation requires the Lottery to conduct a preliminary review of each city’s casino development plans and a preliminary assessment of the financial viability of each city’s chosen casino gaming partner.
• These preliminary reviews are required before the city can have its proposal placed before voters in a local referendum during the Nov. 3, 2020 general election.
Virginia Lottery officials say they have notified the mayors and city managers in each of the five eligible host cities that the agency will be prepared to accept and begin reviewing their preliminary certification materials on June 1.
Additionally, the Lottery microsite includes information about regulations governing online sports betting.
Sports betting
• The sports betting legislation requires the Lottery to award between four and 12 licenses for mobile sports wagering in Virginia.
• The legislation requires the Lottery Board to adopt initial sports betting regulations no later than Sept. 15, 2020, including 30 days of public comment on the proposed rules.
• After regulations are adopted, the agency is provided 90 days to review completed applications from potential operators and anticipates the first preliminary sports betting licenses could be awarded late in the year or in early 2021.
