Virginia Senator announces intention to reintroduce bill establishing Fairfax County casino license

Virginia has five brick-and-mortar casinos in operation but Virginia Sen. Scott Surovell would like to see that number grow by at least one. Surovell has committed to bringing the premise of a new casino in Fairfax County up for debate in 2026.

According to Scott McCaffrey and Angela Woolsey of FFXNow, Surovell shared with them that he will try again in 2026 to get Fairfax County added to the list of places authorized for a physical casino in Virginia. Surovell is the Virginia Senate Majority Leader and his district encompasses the southeastern part of Fairfax County.

Surovell explained that "the county's commercial tax base is continuing to crumble, and the county is going to have an incredibly difficult time sustaining teacher, police, and firefighter salaries and our school services at existing levels, unless the county gets a major infusion of revenue in the next five years. I think authorizing an entertainment district in the county is the surest way to do that."

For the 2025 session, Surovell filed SB982, which was approved by the Senate but never proceeded out of committee in the Virginia House of Delegates. Local opposition to a casino in the Tysons area was a part of the demise of SB982, and those sentiments remain formidable.

McCaffrey and Woolsey also report that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors took action amid Surovell's statements on the county and gaming. On Tuesday, the Board voted to approve a resolution that it opposes "legislation in the General Assembly that authorizes a casino in Fairfax County without any request for such legislation from the Board of Supervisors, without implementation of a statewide Gaming Commission, and without a tax revenue split that substantially benefits Fairfax County as opposed to the commonwealth."

In the 5-4 vote on the resolution, supervisors expressed concerns over the impact of a casino on property value and the development of other commercial enterprises. The inclusion of the creation of a Virginia Gaming Commission issue adds another wrinkle to the situation.

Currently, the Virginia Lottery oversees land-based casinos and sports wagering in the commonwealth in addition to its own activities. Virginia Del. Paul Krizek has been at the forefront of removing much of that burden from the Lottery.

Krizek filed HB2498 for the 2025 session but the proposal never reached the floor of the House of Delegates. The proposal would have established a Virginia Gaming Commission with oversight over casinos and sports betting.

Because of his role as Senate Majority Leader, Surovell's position on the subject carries weight. If legislation to establish a commission passes the House of Delegates, Surovell would play a large role in determining whether the Senate takes it up.

McCaffrey and Woolsey state that Surovell "agrees a state gaming commission 'needs to be explored'" but added that "it should be 'discussed together' with a bill on Fairfax County." Surovell verbalized concerns that creating the commission separately might put Fairfax County at a disadvantage in comparison to other parts of the commonwealth seeking a potential gaming license.

Absent so far from these conversations has been whether Surovell supports the regulation of real money online casino apps and sites in Virginia. Virginia Sen. Mamie Lock filed a bill toward that end for the 2025 session but quickly thereafter shelved it, preferring to wait to bring it forward until the 2026 session.

Whether Virginians will see offers like the FanDuel Casino bonus anytime soon is as much up to negotiations in Richmond as the potential future of a sixth brick-and-mortar casino in Virginia.

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Those debates will likely involve whether the Virginia Lottery will continue to regulate nearly all gaming as well.

Derek Helling