Northern Virginia Casino Bill One Big Step Closer to Fairfax County Referendum

The odds of a casino in Northern Virginia seemed insurmountable only a month or so ago, but state lawmakers in Richmond continue to improve the likelihood of slot machines, table games, and sports betting coming to one of the most affluent regions in the United States.

There’s strong public and local government opposition to allowing a casino in Northern Virginia’s Fairfax County. Many state lawmakers don’t seem to care as legislation to designate Fairfax — specifically, census-designated Tysons — as a qualified host location for a commercial gaming resort continues to make headway in the State Capitol.

On Tuesday, Senate Bill 982 cleared the Virginia Senate by a 24-16 vote. Though the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, many township officials, former members of the federal intelligence community, and several homeowners’ associations have expressed hostility to a casino undertaking — and public polling suggests that more than six in 10 county voters don’t want gaming in their community —  Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (R-Fairfax), the bill’s chief sponsor, says economic solutions to the county’s property tax problem are needed.

A Fairfax casino would generate $1.8 billion for the state if it did as well as the MGM casino across the river [MGM National Harbor], which most people think it would,” said Surovell. “When I read about how much money Maryland is going to suck out of our commonwealth to pay for their schools, I thought it was offensive, and I thought we need to do something.”

Along with keeping gaming money inside Virginia, Surovell says a Northern Virginia casino would bring tax relief to Fairfax County, and that the Fairfax Board of Supervisors “can consider that” before deciding not to embrace a casino opportunity.

Northern Virginia Casino a Divisive Matter

Surovell’s push for Tysons to join Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Petersburg, and Portsmouth as casino host areas has divided Fairfax’s state delegation in Richmond.

“Unlike previous casino authorization bills passed by the General Assembly, this proposal was not initiated by Fairfax County. In fact, in a recent letter, the chair of the Board of Supervisors confirmed that the county has not sought this authority and is unlikely to proceed with a referendum due to significant community opposition,” Salim wrote.

As the state senator representing the proposed casino site, I cannot overstate the overwhelming opposition from my constituents. Over just the past two weeks, my office has received approximately 1,300 emails and calls on this issue — less than 0.008% of which were in support,” Salim added.

“This is not the way we should be creating public land use. That belongs with the local government,” Boysko added.

State Can’t Force Casino on Fairfax Residents

If SB982 finds similar support in the Virginia House of Delegates and is signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) — something certainly not set in stone as the Republican has said he isn’t in favor of more gaming after significant expansion in recent years — the bill wouldn’t authorize a casino in Fairfax County. Instead, the legislation would only permit the county to conduct a competitive bid for a casino development and later hold a referendum on the matter.

Should the county seize that opportunity, the winning bid would then go before voters during a countywide referendum. If a simple majority backs the project, the casino would then be cleared.