Virginia has vastly expanded gambling over the past few years, and another new form, igaming, was debated at a committee hearing in Richmond Tuesday morning.
igaming lets a player bet from their phone— slot machines, poker, roulette. The practice is currently illegal in Virginia, but that hasn’t stopped people from playing.
To that end Delegate Marcus Simon presented a rough draft of a bill to legalize the practice. He says the state could rake in tax revenue off the estimated $5 billion the practice is expected to generate over the next five years. He also suggested it could cut down on illegal online gaming.
