{"id":312772,"date":"2024-03-03T06:42:47","date_gmt":"2024-03-03T12:42:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=312772"},"modified":"2024-03-04T11:56:34","modified_gmt":"2024-03-04T17:56:34","slug":"pace-o-matic-lawyer-working-on-virginia-skill-game-legislation-not-conflict-of-interest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pace-o-matic-lawyer-working-on-virginia-skill-game-legislation-not-conflict-of-interest\/","title":{"rendered":"Pace-O-Matic Lawyer Work on Virginia Skill Game Bill \u2018Not Conflict of Interest\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Virginia state senator — who as a lawyer for skill-games manufacturer Pace-O-Matic fought the state\u2019s ban on the machines — is now helping to write legislation to overturn the prohibition, The Virginia Mercury<\/em> reports.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"State
State Sen. Bill Stanley, presenting his \u201cLeaning Right and Turning Left\u201d podcast, which happens to be sponsored by skill-game manufacturer Pace-O-Matic, above. He also works as a lawyer for the company, which has lobbied hard for skill-gaming in Virginia. (Image: Cardinal News)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sen. Bill Stanley (R-Franklin) admitted he was \u201csurprised\u201d that he was cleared by the state Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council to work on the bill, which would regulate and tax the machines in Virginia.<\/p>\n

Stanley also represented former NASCAR driver turned truck-stop owner Hermie Sadler in his unsuccessful legal challenge<\/a> to have the ban overturned on constitutional grounds.<\/p>\n

Stanley told the Mercury <\/em>Thursday that the advisory council determined there was no conflict of interest. That’s because he was not an owner of Pace-O-Matic or of a convenience store that had a skill-game in it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m representing the public interest,\u201d Stanley said. His experience as a lawyer \u201chelps me make a determination about what\u2019s best for the commonwealth of Virginia,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Still Retained by Pace-O-Matic<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Stanley noted that he generally opposed gambling expansion and had abstained from gambling votes in the past. He also said he did not ask to be appointed to the conference committee<\/a> of lawmakers working on the bill.<\/p>\n

He confirmed that he is still retained as a lawyer for Pace-O-Matic. The Georgia-based skill-game company also sponsors Stanley\u2019s Leaning Right and Turning Left <\/em>podcast, which he hosts with Sadler.<\/p>\n

\n

Skill games have been deployed in Virginia restaurants, bars, and truck stops for the past two decades. They were unregulated, untaxed, and existed in a gray area of the law until 2020, when the legislature voted to ban the machines outright.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

They were granted a stay of execution during the pandemic when then-Gov. Ralph Northam devised a plan to tax them for 12 months. It was done only to shore up finances for struggling businesses.<\/p>\n

Then last October, the state Supreme Court declared the machines illegal gambling games and the state began enforcing the ban from January 2024. Currently, thousands of Pace-O-Matic machines sit deactivated in businesses across the state awaiting the outcome of future legislation.<\/p>\n

Competing Bills<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are currently two bills being prepared in the House and Senate, respectively. The House bill proposes tighter regulations and a higher tax rate, while the Senate bill, with less red tape, aims to get skill games generating revenue again for small businesses as quickly as possible. These two approaches will need to be reconciled before a final version can be put to a vote.<\/p>\n

In 2021, while representing Sadler in his lawsuit against then-Gov. Northam, Stanley argued that the state\u2019s decision to permit casino gaming<\/a> but ban skill games amounted to hypocrisy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re going to legalize gambling in [Virginia] then you\u2019ve got to rip the band-aid off,\u201d he told media. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to legalize all gambling, and picking and choosing winners and losers is un-American and un-Virginian.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Virginia state senator — who as a lawyer for skill-games manufacturer Pace-O-Matic fought the state\u2019s ban on the machines — is now helping to write legislation to overturn the prohibition, The Virginia Mercury reports. Sen. Bill Stanley (R-Franklin) admitted he was \u201csurprised\u201d that he was cleared by the state Conflict of Interest and Ethics […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":312773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[86432,61,13592,69293],"tags":[88765,83218,90084,90085],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPace-O-Matic Lawyer Work on Virginia Skill Game Bill \u2018Not Conflict of Interest\u2019<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"State Sen. 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