Governor Abigail Spanberger has vetoed slot-machine style "skill games." But, that won't change much...
<Skill Games> SOC 1:17
"Skill games" used to be known as "gray machines" because they supposedly existed in a gray area of the law until the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled that they were illegal. But then, a judge in Hanover County ruled that the machines are legal as long as money is not directly inserted into them. Stephen Haner at the Jefferson Forum says rules around these machines are still shades of gray.
"It's like prohibition all over again, right? I mean, the public wants to do it, there's a huge market for it," Haner says. "The people who are owning these locations are making huge amounts of money off these machines."
Bill Leighty was chief of staff to Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, and he says local governments are taking a variety of approaches.
"There are a few jurisdictions that have chosen to enforce the law as it is and to go in and order the removal of the machines," Leighty says. "But then there are others that have not and have just looked the other way."
Revenue from skill games is part of the ongoing budget negotiations between House and Senate leaders, who were counting on that money to balance the books. That was before the governor vetoed the bill, although House and Senate leaders may still try to force the issue as part of a last-minute budget compromise.
