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Virginia online casino bill SB 118 ready for Senate vote
The Virginia Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee approved the legislation on Tuesday, setting the stage for a possible vote of the full Senate.
A bill that could regulate online casino games in Virginia has made it through Senate committees, and it now potentially faces scrutiny from the entire chamber. Support for the proposal in the full Senate is unclear, but the speed at which the bill has been moving through the body is a positive indicator for the short 2026 session.
Virginia Senate committee sends SB118 to chamber floor
Tuesday's meeting of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee produced a desired result for Sen. Mamie Locke's SB118. The committee voted 8-6 in favor of the bill with one abstention.
SB118 would make Virginia the ninth US state with a licensure structure for real money online casino apps and websites. Locke introduced the legislation in 2025 but held it over to the second part of the commonwealth's two-year legislative session.
For 2026, the "crossover deadline" for the Virginia Assembly is Feb. 18, giving SB118 about a week to obtain approval from the full Senate to continue to make progress toward enactment. A crossover deadline is a date by which bills must be approved by their bodies of origin (the Virginia House of Delegates or Virginia Senate) in order for the other chamber to consider them.
There is a companion bill in the House of Delegates, HB161, that has seen positive movement as well. However, the current version of SB118 would be preferential for Virginians who would like to access the fastest payout online casinos as soon as possible.
Provision in House bill could complicate enactment
If the language in HB161 is part of the final statute, Virginians' legal access to casino games with best odds online could still be tentative. An amendment to that bill requires the Virginia legislature to reapprove the proposal in 2027 before it actually takes effect.
SB118 does not include any such language at this point. However, the incongruence might lead to delays that the legislation cannot afford. Not only does SB118 face a forthcoming crossover deadline but also faces a March 9 deadline for committee actions on legislation.
Even if the Senate approves SB118 before Feb. 18, any change in language by the House would require the Senate to reconsider the proposal. Simply put, there isn't much time for the bill to move back and forth with the Assembly also processing the commonwealth's budget.
Either HB161 or SB118 could allow Virginians to take advantage of bonuses like the PlayStar casino promo code that players in New Jersey currently enjoy. That offer is only for new customers in that state.
For now, the news for SB118 is positive. The bill faces potential amendments and a short calendar that could derail the momentum, though.
