Residents in This Affluent Northern Virginia Region Stress Their Casino Opposition
Posted on: November 20, 2025, 09:18h.
Last updated on: November 20, 2025, 09:46h.
- Will a bill to allow a casino in Northern Virginia be introduced in 2026?
- Northern Virginia residents are overall opposed to casino gambling in Fairfax County
- The affluent region is home to the CIA and many Fortune 500 businesses
The odds of a casino with slot machines and table games coming to Northern Virginia remain long, but residents in the wealthy region aren’t taking their chances.
For several legislative sessions, measures to qualify Fairfax County for a commercial casino have been introduced to the Virginia General Assembly. The push has been led by state Sen. David Marsden (D-Fairfax), who believes the corporate headquarters mecca and sprawling residential area needs to diversify to find new tax sources.
Many of the county’s more than 1.1 million residents have strongly voiced their opposition to allowing a Las Vegas-like resort in the area.
Organized as various grassroots groups, including the Greater Tysons Citizens Coalition, Tysons Stakeholders Alliance, and No Fairfax Casino, the allies went to the Fairfax County Government Center on Tuesday morning to present their opposition to casino gambling.
Public Input Regarding Casino
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors gathered to discuss 2026 legislative priorities. Many members of the anti-casino movement pressured the local government to more strongly oppose state efforts to designate Fairfax County for a casino than they have previously.
Your prior calls have not been enough,” said Sally Horn, the chair of the Greater Tysons Citizens Coalition, as reported by FFXNow.
“End the notion of a casino in Tysons,” added Vienna Mayor Linda Colbert. “We could be working on so many other good things.”
One after another, members of the casino opposition stressed that the county supervisors’ previous public positions on Marsden and other state lawmakers’ support of designating Fairfax for a casino were inadequate.
The board said last year that because Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, where local governments’ authority is limited by the state, it doesn’t typically take a position on state legislation. Amid strong local backlash, the supervisors weighed in with a letter to legislative leaders in Richmond.
Unlike other jurisdictions that received the authority to hold a referendum to host a casino, Fairfax County did not seek such authority and has not been substantively involved in the development of the casino concept envisioned by stakeholders and the patron of the legislation,” wrote Jeff McKay, the county board chair. “It likely comes as no surprise to you that the location and concept included in the legislation and reported in the media has generated significant community concern and opposition.”
“Furthermore, since a community engagement process was not conducted prior to the bill being introduced, as it was in other jurisdictions, we believe the bill in its current form is likely to result in strong community opposition to the future referendum,” McKay continued.
Casino Bill Not Yet Filed for 2026
Prefiling for Virginia’s 2026 session began on November 15. No Fairfax County casino statute has yet been submitted.
Being an even year, Virginia’s 2026 legislative session runs 60 days (odd-numbered years run only 30). The General Assembly is to convene on January 14 and adjourn on March 14.
While bills from even-numbered years can be carried over to odd-numbered sessions, bills cannot be carried over from odd-numbered years.
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