Virginia online casino bill SB118 took a step forward after narrowly passing the VA Senate by a 19-17 majority.
The bill, which seeks to legalize up to 15 online casinos in Virginia, now heads to the House for further deliberation. If approved, online casino apps and sites could make their way to Old Dominion as early as next year, with prospective operators required to partner with the state's brick-and-mortar casinos.
Each of the state's five casinos would be allowed to partner with up to three partners, or "skins", meaning there could be up to 15 online casinos if all licenses are fulfilled.
SB118 Key Components
In addition to the 15 online casino licenses, Sen. Mamie Locke's SB118 seeks the following:
- Tax rate: 15% tax on iGaming revenue
- Platform fee: $2 million
- Initial licensing fee: $500,000
- Regulator: Virginia Lottery Board
If passed, Virginia would become become the newest online casino state in nearly two years after Rhode Island launched iGaming in March 2024.
Which Online Casinos Would be Available?
With as many as 15 online casino licenses up for grabs, the big question should be "which brands will be available?"
The big iGaming players (BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics and FanDuel) should be expected, but brands whose parent companies have land-based casinos in Virginia are a guarantee.
Those brands include the likes of Caesars Palace Online Casino and Horseshoe Casino (Caesars Virginia), Hard Rock Bet Casino (Hard Rock Bristol), and BetRivers online Casino (Rivers Casino Portsmouth).
There are bound to be other interested brands as online casinos are only legal in seven states as of January 2026. And with each of these will come some of the top online casino bonuses on the market.
VA iGaming Faces Uphill Climb
There's no promise that this latest attempt to legalize online casinos in Old Dominion will have any more success than prior.
Previous attempts, like SB827 last year, never made it very far as Locke, who also sponsored the bill, wanted the issue to be studied further.
On top of that, local casino operator Cordish Cos., and Churchill Downs, which operates several historical horse racing facilities in the state, have both been staunch opponents of online casino attempts. These two would have a say in any push to legalize online casinos in the state, and have previously been the bane of iGaming expansion in other states as well.
It'll have to be seen whether SB118 makes it further than last year's efforts.
