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2019 SESSION

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SB 1126 Lottery Board; regulation of casino gaming, penalties, report.

Introduced by: L. Louise Lucas | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles | history

SUMMARY AS PASSED:

Lottery Board; regulation of casino gaming; penalties. Authorizes casino gaming in the Commonwealth to be regulated by the Virginia Lottery Board (the Board). Casino gaming shall be limited to certain cities that meet the criteria that is outlined in the bill, and a referendum must be passed in the city on the question of allowing casino gaming in the city. The bill requires the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to conduct a review of casino gaming laws in other states and report its findings to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology and the House Committee on General Laws on or before December 1, 2019. The bill contains enactment clauses that prohibit (i) any referendum from being held prior to the publication of the JLARC findings and recommendations regarding casino gaming or after January 1, 2021, and (ii) the Board from issuing a license to operate a gaming operation before July 1, 2020. The bill also provides that amendments to the Code of Virginia that are made in the bill will not become effective unless reenacted by the 2020 Session of the General Assembly.

SUMMARY AS PASSED SENATE:

Lottery Board; regulation of casino gaming; penalties. Authorizes casino gaming in the Commonwealth to be regulated by the Virginia Lottery Board (the Board). The bill specifies the licensing requirements for casino gaming and imposes criminal and civil penalties for violations of the casino gaming law. Casino gaming shall be limited to certain cities that meet the criteria that is outlined in the bill, and a referendum must be passed in the city on the question of allowing casino gaming in the city. The referendum must be adopted prior to January 1, 2021.

The bill imposes a tax ranging from 13 to 15 percent of the adjusted gross receipts of licensees, based upon a licensee's annual adjusted gross receipts, and provides for how the tax proceeds are disbursed.

The bill requires the Board to establish and implement a voluntary exclusion program allowing individuals to voluntarily list themselves as being barred from entering a casino gaming establishment or other facility under the jurisdiction of the Board. The bill also establishes the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund administered by the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to provide counseling and other support services for compulsive and problem gamblers, develop problem gambling treatment and prevention programs, and provide grants to support organizations that provide assistance to compulsive gamblers.

The bill requires the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to report no later than November 1, 2019, regarding recommendations for casino gaming in the Commonwealth. The bill includes a reenactment clause for the referenda provisions of the bill.

SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Lottery Board; regulation of casino gaming; penalties. Authorizes casino gaming in the Commonwealth to be regulated by the Virginia Lottery Board (the Board). The bill specifies the licensing requirements for casino gaming and imposes criminal and civil penalties for violations of the casino gaming law. Casino gaming shall be limited to any city in which at least 40 percent of the land area is exempt from local real property taxation pursuant to federal law or specified sections of the Constitution of Virginia or any city that had a rate of unemployment at least four percentage points higher than the statewide average, a poverty rate of at least 22 percent, and a population decrease in the locality of at least 20 percent from the previous year, all computed as of November 2017, and located adjacent to a state that has adopted a Border Region Retail Tourism Development District Act. The bill imposes a tax of 10 percent on the adjusted gross receipts of licensees and provides for how the tax proceeds are disbursed. In addition, a referendum must be passed in the city on the question of allowing casino gaming in the city. The bill requires the Board to establish and implement a voluntary exclusion program allowing individuals to voluntarily list themselves as being barred from entering a casino gaming establishment or other facility under the jurisdiction of the Board. The bill also establishes the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund administered by the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to provide counseling and other support services for compulsive and problem gamblers, develop problem gambling treatment and prevention programs, and provide grants to support organizations that provide assistance to compulsive gamblers.