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Virginia has been losing out on valuable gaming tax revenue for years. But politics have slowly been changing in the traditionally conservative state. The state has gone for the Democrat in the last three presidential elections after voting Republican in the previous 10.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Gaming proponents say the time to act is now, while others say caution is the best path forward. Norment opined that without the one-year referendum delay, voters wouldn’t have adequate time to review the gambling impact study and understand the full the scope of the consequences.<\/p>\n
Along with the study mandate, Norment’s Finance Committee also changed the tax structure in Lucas’ bill.<\/p>\n
Gross gambling revenue would be taxed between 13 and 15 percent depending on how much the casinos win. Thirty percent of the funds would be earmarked for transportation and infrastructure, and another 30 percent for school construction.<\/strong><\/p>\nOther beneficiaries include 10 percent for teacher salary increases, 10 percent to limit higher education costs, and 10 percent for local counties and towns where the gaming venues are located.<\/p>\n
Changing Opinion <\/b><\/h2>\n
Virginia lawmakers surprised many last year when they signed off on allowing historical horseracing terminals at Colonial Downs. Chicago-based Revolutionary Racing offered to buy and reopen the shuttered track, but only if the slot-like machines were authorized.<\/p>\n
The controversial gaming terminals \u2013 which allow players to bet on horse races already run but with the names of the horses, jockeys, trainers, and track concealed \u2013 were additionally legalized for off-track betting facilities.<\/p>\n
It’s not only Virginia politicians who are slowly coming around to embracing gaming. A recent poll found that 63 percent<\/a> of likely voters want to allow the commercial and Native American casinos, as well as permit sports betting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Virginia casino ballot question that could have gone before voters as early as November will be delayed at least one year in order to provide an adequate amount of time to conduct a comprehensive study on gambling’s potential impact on the Commonwealth. The Virginia Senate Finance Committee voted 14-4 on Tuesday to require the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":97490,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,18,61,13592],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Virginia Casino Referendum Delayed, Senate Committee Wants Study<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n