Category Archives: Gambling

Virginia Legalized Gambling: Outlook for 2020

Posted on December 6, 2019 by | 14 comments

Photo credit: Gambling Herald

By Don Rippert

It’s not called the OLD Dominion for nothing. Virginia has lagged the nation in allowing legalized casino gambling. This is especially noteworthy since the United States doesn’t have a very tolerant attitude toward legalized gambling compared to other countries. In other words, Virginia has been a laggard within a lagging nation. That is changing. As of 1997 only two US states allowed legal casino gambling. Today 43 US states have operating casinos.  Virginia is not among those 43 states. Is anybody surprised? However, legislation passed in 2019 will change that. It seems very likely that Virginia will be joining the modern world of legalized gambling in 2020 (and beyond). The biggest barrier to Virginia casinos opening in 2020 is the bureaucracy of our state government. More on that in a moment. First, let’s review a brief history of legalized gambling in the Old Dominion.

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Posted in Business and Economy, Gambling, General Assembly, Governance

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Virginia Tax On Racinos Among Lowest in U.S.

Posted on July 11, 2019 by | 8 comments

2017 State revenue on gambling operations. Click for larger view. Source: American Gaming Association Annual Report. Virginia should appear on future lists.

If Virginia is going to sell its soul, we should at least get the market price.

The Virginia Racing Commission is starting to publish monthly reports on the cash flow to Colonial Downs and to the government under the new state-granted monopoly to operate gambling dens.  Any relationship to horse racing in these establishments is just an elaborate ruse, although there is this interesting new word in the industry: Racinos.

The April, May and June reports, which you can find here, track the slow roll opening of the slot machine facilities in Vinton, Richmond and at the main racetrack site in New Kent County.  Only the June report picks up some of the operation at the facility just opened on Midlothian Turnpike in Richmond, the excitement captured by this Richmond Times-Dispatch account.  Continue reading →

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Posted in Gambling, Taxes

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Sport of Kings Needs Peasants Playing Slots

Posted on August 2, 2018 by | 4 comments

Horse Race Slot Machine Circa 1937 (Not What’s Coming Now)

The Sport of Kings apparently cannot survive today unless between races the peasants are pumping their copper into slots.

“The new law acknowledges what several other horse racing states already have concluded: that the new economic realities to sustain a viable horse racing industry require an alternative form of gaming to offset the high cost of live racing,” writes industry advocate Jeb Hannum in today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch. Continue reading →

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Posted in Economic development, Gambling, General Assembly

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The Tax on the Mathematically Challenged

Posted on July 26, 2018 by | 6 comments

Pick 3 Game Frequency

Untold thousands of Virginians just poured their money into the recent multi-state Mega Millions drawing won by someone in California.  Governor Jerry Brown sends his thanks for his cut.  But based on a recent news release our own governor is also very pleased with the performance of the Virginia Lottery as it approaches its 30th anniversary.

As with any other game of chance, the house has many ways to win.

Years of debate in the General Assembly led to a November 1987 lottery referendum, which passed with about 57 percent in favor.  The games started less than a year later.  According to information on the Virginia Lottery website, and plugging in the unaudited totals from fiscal year 2018, over 30 years the lottery has:

  • Received from players $37 billion in cash (sales).
  • Returned about $21 billion of that back to players in prizes. The net after taxes is not reported, so that might really be about $16 or 17 billion.
  • Transferred about $12.5 billion to the state earmarked for education (but there is no proof local schools are better funded than they would otherwise be.)
  • Spent about $2 billion on its own overhead and advertising and  another $2 billion on compensation to retailers. (State and local taxes gets a cut of that, too.)

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Posted in Business and Economy, Gambling, Taxes

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