A bill that would permit Virginians to wager on in-state college athletic competitions has been delayed by the Senate but will return for the 2025 legislative session.
Let’s go through the main points regarding this delay and its impact on top-rated sportsbooks.
Cause for Pause
Although many Virginia lawmakers would like to see the sports betting law amended to include in-state college competitions, there is still enough opposition, or at least trepidation, to put the topic on hold for another year. Senate Bill 124, introduced by Senator Schuyler VanValkenburg, aimed to allow sports betting on college teams that reside within the commonwealth. The current legislation allows betting on college sports teams but only those located outside Virginia.
And although SB 124 made it through the General Laws and Technology Committee on January 24th, the same could not be said when it faced the scrutiny of the Finance and Appropriations Committee on February 6th when that body voted unanimously to put the bill on the shelf until 2025.
Many legislators believe that Virginia gamblers are already betting on in-state teams like the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Liberty, George Mason and James Madison, but are doing it with illegal bookies, offshore sites or crossing state lines to wager on those games in bordering states that allow mobile sports betting.
The tax money that Virginia is losing to those other gambling alternatives is just one reason why lawmakers like Van Valkenburg want the ban on in-state collegiate betting lifted. The other purpose is to diminish the presence of illegal sports betting in the state. Consumer protections currently in place, as well as rules that govern domestic digital betting, make it a much safer space to gamble for those patronizing Virginia’s mobile sportsbooks than for those who don’t.
Skittish on the Issue
Some of the resistance to allowing sports betting on in-state teams, not just in Virginia, but other states like Massachusetts that also ban it, stems from concern for the college athletes who might be prone to harassment or even offered bribes to fix games.
However, in a meeting of the Gaming Subcommittee on January 23rd, VanValkenburg argued, “I think you see a lot of people who are still gambling on Virginia sports…all of our surrounding states can gamble on Virginia universities. I think it’s good to bring it into the fold, I think it’s good for public safety, I think it’s the right thing to do for regulating the market.”
However, during a public comment session, Todd Gathje with The Family Foundation, voiced his concern by saying, “My concern is just, how far does this go? Because if we take this away then all of a sudden, with high school sports now on TV, are we going to start allowing that to be the battle line?”
Many believe it is a specious argument, as college sports are being wagered on all around the country. Whatever nefarious possibilities exist for student-athletes from ne’er-do-wells within the state can also happen from bad actors who reside outside the state.
“You can ban it, but people are still going to do it,” VanValkenburg said. “The fear that this is going to corrupt or put pressure on Virginia athletes, that’s already there. We’re already living in that world.”
