Virginia legislators have presented legislation to produce the state's first-ever gaming commission in a move that could help speed up more video gaming growth.

- Lawmakers introduced legislation to produce the Virginia Gaming Commission, moving oversight from the state lotto.

- Separate legislation would legalize real-money online casino gaming, allowing brick-and-mortar casinos to partner with up to 3 third-party iGaming operators.

- While the video gaming commission bill already has bipartisan assistance, iGaming deals with political and market opposition that could make complex passage in 2026.

The expenses presented in both chambers today would reassign oversight of Virginia's gambling establishment, sports betting, everyday dream sports, and historical horse racing industries from the state lottery game to the brand-new Virginia Gaming Commission. This would have a negligible direct effect on Virginia sports gamblers or DFS players, but it might assist spur further market growth in a state that had actually opposed betting for centuries.

Established in 1987, the Virginia Lottery was the very first contemporary kind of "gambling" legislated in the Old Dominion given that its establishing more than 400 years back. It was the rational government body to oversee the boom in brand-new gambling forms over the last few years, now legislators intend to spread out oversight.

The Virginia Lottery would continue to exist. The brand-new commission would supervise most other forms of controlled gambling.

Online gambling establishment capacity

The reorganization bill comes as Virginia is set to once again consider real-money online casino gaming legislation. In a different proposal, Virginia would permit third-party iGaming operators to partner with brick-and-mortar gambling establishments to offer digital slots, table video games, and poker.

If both bills are passed this year, the brand-new commission would be set to control Virginia's latest gambling form. Virginia might be the ninth state to legislate real-money online gaming and the second to do so this year, after Maine.

The Virginia Gaming Commission would likewise supervise possible new brick-and-mortar gambling establishments. The expense establishing the commission also lays out how new casinos might be authorized.

Virginia lawmakers have presented an expense that would legislate real money online gambling establishment video gaming in the Commonwealth; would enable for up to 15 separate iGaming operators, 3 to each of the five existing brick-and-mortar casinos

In 2020, citizens in Danville, Bristol, Norfolk, and Portsmouth approved the first 4 licensed in-person casinos in Virginia history. After Richmond voters rejected a casino, citizens in Petersburg authorized the state's fifth gaming facility in 2024.

Several other Virginia jurisdictions, including Roanoke and Tysons, have actually considered gambling establishments of their own. Any such growth would likewise require regional citizen approval.

The iGaming legalization bill allows brick-and-mortar casinos to partner with as lots of as 3 third-party mobile operators each. New in-person gambling establishments might potentially develop an avenue for a lot more iCasinos.

Passing bills no sure thing

The gaming commission expense already has bipartisan and bicameral support and may prove noncontroversial as the state handles a comparatively fast betting growth after years of little activity. Passing another form in iGaming might show more tough.

Online gambling establishment gaming has dealt with stiff opposition in most statehouses. Virginia legislators passed on serious factor to consider last year and deal with a number of the very same political headwinds in 2026.

Some Democrats in the House of Delegates and Senate oppose gambling over worries it harms clients, particularly lower-income bettors. Democrats have bulks in both chambers and turned the governor's estate last fall.

Conservative anti-gambling voices also stay strong in the legislature, especially among Republicans. Any iGaming legalization bill would likely need bipartisan support to advance.

The costs likewise faces opposition from some Virginia gaming stakeholders.

Cordish Companies, which holds the Petersburg casino license, has vocally opposed iGaming, arguing it funnels locals' dollars to out-of-state companies at the cost of existing in-state tasks at the brick-and-mortar homes. The operator of a Maryland gambling establishment, its opposition helped tank a comparable legalization effort in Virginia's northern neighbor last year.

It remains to be seen whether Virginia can continue its betting development with iGaming growth. But gaming-related costs introduced in the early days of the state's 2026 legal session highlight lawmakers' growing interest in the market.