SB 118 Moves to Finance Committee After Passing in The General Laws Committee
SB 118 was passed out of the General Laws Committee on a 9-6 vote on Jan 28. The bill had been amended to add in additional RG protections. The latest version of the bill can be found on the Member Portal.
The bill now goes to the Finance Committee. While the chairwoman is a supporter of iGaming, she is also pushing for other gaming bills, like skill gaming legalization, to also pass. The Finance Committee will only consider the economic impact of bills, not the overall policy. We are working to shore up concerns that iGaming will hurt casino and iLottery revenues.
The House is in a holding pattern on its version of the iGaming bill, HB 161. It is possible that next week or the following, this bill could be consider for a hearing. The Senate Finance hearing is the week of Feb 2.
iDEA was on the ground meeting with lawmakers this week to educate on the bill and secure passage out of Committee. Our lobbyist is now working with the stakeholder team to get support in the Finance Committee to advance the bill to the Senate floor. We will be back in Richmond, when the House considers the iGaming bill.