Two more online gaming sites, Golden Nugget Online Gaming and Bally’s Corporation were given temporary permits yesterday from the Virginia Lottery, bringing them one step closer to launch in the Old Dominion State.
Once both of these operations go live, it will give Virginia residents eight different options for online gaming — a remarkable feat for a state that less than a year ago had none.
Thomas Winter, president and CEO of GNOG, said this morning in a statement he hoped to have the site up and running soon.
“We will be working hand in hand with the regulators over the next couple of months to complete all of the required and standard platform testing so that we will be in a position to start taking bets this summer,” Winter said.
In his statement, Winter indicated GNOG planned to share its revenue with Virginia’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The state is home to five, most of them located in the central part of the state.
State Of Play In Virginia
Virginia voters approved a referendum regarding sports betting in November, 2020. Since then six companies have launched in the state, the latest being WynnBET last week.
GNOG hopes to have a big footprint in the state, and not just online gaming. The group put in a bid last month to operate a yet-to-be approved casino in the Richmond-area.
The $400M project would include a 177-room hotel downtown with slots, table games, and an entertainment venue. It is one of six proposals hoping to get final approval once voters have their say.
In November’s upcoming statewide election for governor and local officials, Richmond voters will tackle the casino-question, potentially allowing them to follow in the footsteps of four other jurisdictions that approved land-based casinos in November, 2020.
The Richmond Department of Economic Development has begun hosting a series of online forums for residents to voice their concerns or support of the measure.
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