Video Gambling May Pass in Virginia

The Virginia General Assembly is considering a bill that would allow video gambling at Colonial Downs. The games would allow players to wager on horse racing machines, which are only currently offered in Arkansas. They think that the new games could be a way to solve the major financial problems that they are currently having.

The state needs hundreds of millions of dollars for transportation projects, and they have no current visible means of paying for them. Therefore, they think that these new horse racing machines might be the answer. Current gambling legislation is very clear on the fact that the games are not legal, so they have to go back to the House and the Senate to see if they can get the bill passed to approve the games.

The Senate has passed the bill 23 to 14, so now it is off to the House, and usually by this point there are groups organized to keep this sort of thing from passing. However, this time around it seems that opponents are not up for the fight. They say that not only are they surprised that Virginia would be interested in non stop horse racing, they are equally as concerned that their neighboring state Maryland is actually considering legalizing slot machines.

They say it comes down to the $300 million that supporters are saying it will bring in, and the desperate need the state has for money right now. They think that Colonial Downs is taking advantage of the state because of where they are right now, and they believe that the new games are the same as legalizing slot machines.


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