Virginia Governor Expands Sports Betting Law For More Sportsbooks

• Virginia sports betting laws have been amended to create 12 mobile sportsbooks that will not be tethered to casinos or other gaming businesses in the Commonwealth.
• Minority and small-business owners will be able to apply for one of these twelve licenses to open mobile sportsbook platforms.
• The new law will be enacted on July 1 in Virginia.

RICHMOND, Va. – On Thursday, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed two mirroring bills into law to expand the regulated sports betting industry of Virginia.

Both Senate Bill 1254 and House Bill 1847 were approved by Northam and will officially go into effect on July 1.

The Two Bills That Will Become Law & What They Will Do

Senate Bill 1254 and House Bill 1847 will ensure that the twelve sports betting licenses that were stated in the original laws are not counted toward casino mobile sports wagering platforms.

Mobile sportsbooks will now have twelve operators unaffiliated with any gaming business in Virginia. And to that end, it has been stated that anyone seeking to become a licensed mobile sports betting platform in the Commonwealth through these licenses will be given priority if they are a minority or minority-owned business.

This is in an effort to boost the inclusion of the minority community to be able to enter a business as lucrative and competitive as regulated sportsbooks have been known to be nationwide.

These bills also clarify rules for what sporting events are available to be bet on. The bills ensure that Virginia sports bettors can bet on the Olympics in 2021.

What’s Next?

State-regulated online sportsbooks in Virginia launched in January and have been seeing widespread popularity among sports bettors in the Commonwealth ever since. It was this popularity that created the bills that are now law to create more licenses for more outlets to open operations. On a national level, the bulk of all sports betting is done via mobile applications.

The addition of more licenses creates more revenue profits and an overall more competitive industry for sports betting. The Commonwealth voted to regulate sports gaming in November and went live with their online market two months later. Retail venues are under construction but should be open by the end of the year. Beginning July 1, Virginia will see more mobile sportsbook options available to them thanks to these new amendments to their current laws.

News tags: House Bill 1847 | online sportsbooks | Ralph Northam | Senate Bill 1254 | Virginia