‘Skill’ slot machines are a risky bet for Virginia

After 32 years in the United States Army and Virginia Army National Guard, I now spend my time managing my VFW Post’s charitable gaming activities. Our regulated charitable gaming helps Virginia veterans and charities in our communities. During my many years in VFW posts and bingo halls, I’ve seen charitable gaming bring people together to support many good causes.

That’s why I’m concerned that the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation to legalize so-called “skill” games — the slot-like machines that currently operate illegally in convenience stores, restaurants and gas stations across the commonwealth and mimic casino slot machines but lack the safeguards.

The bill is now before Gov. Abigail Spanberger who could veto it, allow it to become law, or amend and send it back to the legislature. Here are a few points I hope the governor will consider as she makes her decision:

• “Skill” games in public locations like gas stations and convenience stores will skyrocket the risk of underage gambling by children and dramatically increase problem gambling by adults. Senate Bill 661 has limited age verification, no trained personnel monitoring usage, a lack of meaningful regulatory oversight and no meaningful intervention when someone is clearly in distress.
• Legalization also raises serious questions about policy coherence in Virginia: In the past few years, the General Assembly approved many new forms of gambling, including five brick-and-mortar casinos, which prompted hundreds of millions of dollars in public and private investment. Allowing slot machines in every corner store in Virginia undermines those investments and will destabilize an already overcrowded gaming landscape.
• Media reports about a 2022 study from Virginia’s nonpartisan Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) noted that Commonwealth’s Attorneys in several Virginia localities reported increases in crimes such as assault and robbery at establishments with “skill” machines.
• Whatever revenue is brought in by legalizing these slot machines will likely be offset by personal bankruptcies and financial devastation. The social costs that we be borne by families and taxpayers.
• On top of all that, “skill” slot machine companies mocked the rule of law in Virginia by continuing to operate despite the explicit state ban on the machines passed by the General Assembly. After the Virginia Supreme Court upheld the state ban in 2023, “skill” game manufacturers put small business owners in legal jeopardy by encouraging them continue to host the machines in their establishments. The did so again after the Attorney General reconfirmed the illegality of “skill” slots in a September 2024 memorandum sent to prosecutors, sheriffs, and police chiefs statewide.

The president of the Fraternal Order of Police of Virginia, Ray Clemons, got it right in his in public letter to the Governor on March 15, “Legalizing skill slot machines now would reward companies that knowingly flouted state law for years. Legalization would set a troubling precedent about how business is conducted in the commonwealth of Virginia.”

Veterans understand the importance of looking out for one another.

In our post, veterans notice when other veterans are struggling. That kind of community safeguard does not exist in a gas station or convenience store. For many veterans — including those managing stress or service-related challenges — easy access to unregulated gambling carries real risks that this legislation fails to address.

At a time when Governor Spanberger is championing affordability and lowering the cost of living, “skill” game legalization would take the commonwealth in the opposite direction.