Virginia Bill Would Ban Sweepstakes Casinos, Regulate Online Gaming

^{Virginia Del. Marcus Simon is sponsoring House Bill 161, which would ban sweepstakes casinos and creating a framework to regulate online casino gaming in the state. (Photo: Delegate Marcus B. Simon via Facebook)}

A bill filed in the Virginia House of Delegates during the 2026 legislative session would both ban sweepstakes casinos in the state while also establishing a framework for regulating online casinos.

The legislation, House Bill 161, was pre-filed on Jan. 6 by Delegate Marcus Simon (D-Falls Church), and was introduced to the House on Jan. 14.

Virginia Joins List of States Looking at Sweepstakes Bans

The bill looks to modify existing Virginia law to make it explicitly clear that sweepstakes casinos are illegal in the state. HB161 specifies that the dual currency system in place at sweepstakes sites doesn’t exempt them from gaming laws.

“’Sweepstakes means a promotional, advertising, or marketing event, contest or game, whether played online or in person, in which a prize or prize equivalent is awarded, either directly or indirectly through means such as a dual currency system of payment,” the bill reads.

Sweepstakes casino bans have been picking up steam across the United States in recent months. New York, New Jersey, and California are among the states that successfully passed sweepstakes bans in 2025, while others like Florida and Illinois are considering similar moves in 2026. Virginia would join a growing list of states seeking to put an end to how the sites can circumvent gaming regulations.

But the Virginia bill doesn’t stop at eliminating sweepstakes sites from the state. In addition, HB161 would also give the Virginia Lottery Board the ability to regulate online casino play in the state. The five licensed brick-and-mortar casinos currently operating in the state would each be allowed to apply for internet gaming operator licenses. Each operator could run up to three online casino skins, allowing for as many as 15 authorized iGaming platforms in the state.

Each license would cost $500,000 for five years, with an additional $250,000 fee for each renewal. Each online casino would then require its own $2 million platform fee. The Virginia Lottery Board would have until Sept. 30, 2026 to create regulations and implement the law.

iGaming Bill Falls Short in Senate Committee

This isn’t the first time that Virginia lawmakers have been asked to consider online gambling expansion in 2026 alone. HB161 follows SB118, another iGaming proposal that failed to advance earlier this session. The bill, introduced by State Senator Mamie Locke (D-Hampton), would have authorized iGaming in the state with many of the same regulations included in HB161.

SB118 came up short in a 4-3 vote (with one abstention) in the Senate General Laws and Technology Gaming Subcommittee. While both supporters and opponents made arguments over the future of online gambling in Virginia, Sen. Locke argued that it was happening whether or not lawmakers regulated the activity.

“Virginians are already spending $12 billion annually on iGaming platforms,” Locke said. “We can sit here and clutch our moralistic pearls all we want to. But it’s already being done. So, we can keep it illegal, or we can put some guardrails.”

While the bill may have been defeated, others did acknowledge that this was an issue that required action in the state legislature.

“It is something that needs to be regulated, at some point,” said State Senator Jermey McPike, who chairs the committee. “I’m going to abstain on this one because I do want to see legislation that really ups the game in terms of problem gambling. We need to deal with this and this is probably one of the most challenging areas with problem gambling.”

Another issue noted with both SB118 and HB161 was the necessity to create regulations by September. Meanwhile, it’s possible that the Virginia Lottery Board won’t even oversee online gambling by then, as other bills that will be considered this session could establish a Virginia Gaming Commission – a regulator that would take more than a year to start operations after it is created.