Youngkin amends Virginia ‘skill games’ legislation, takes other action on final batch of bills

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has proposed a rewrite of legislation intended to legalize and tax skill games, adding stiff new restrictions that industry supporters argued would still amount to a de facto ban of the slots-like gambling machines hosted by small businesses.

The governor put forward amendments late Monday that overhaul a measure the General Assembly sent him in March, calling for a higher tax rate on the receipts from the machines, and a provision allowing localities to prohibit them. The proposed changes also add placement restrictions on the arcade-style games, banning them within about a half-mile of churches, day cares and houses of worship, and seemingly excluding them in many metro areas that already host a gambling establishment such as a casino.

While skill-games supporters vowed to fight the proposed changes, Youngkin spokesman Christian Martinez said in a statement “the added protections” the governor is seeking address “serious concerns with the regulatory structure, tax rates, the number of machines, impact on the Virginia Lottery and broader public safety implications” of the legislation.

The skill-games bill was one of dozens Youngkin took action on late Monday, as he ran up against a deadline to act on measures sent to his desk during the regular session that ended March 9.

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