- Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger turned down plans for a Fairfax casino.
- She expressed that local governments should be the ones to vote on casinos.
FAIRFAX, Va. – Things took a turn for the worse in Fairfax, Virginia, and their future plans for a casino in the county after Governor Abigail Spanberger vetoed the bill that would call for a vote on the casino plans in Tysons Corner.
After shutting down the bill, Gov. Spanberger shared her reasoning for not passing the legal casino and stated that the local governing bodies should be the ones that make that decision.
“Local governing boards should lead on proposed casino development, as has happened in every locality that now has a casino,” said Governor Abigail Spanberger. “But in Fairfax County, the Board of Supervisors has explicitly opposed this legislation, and an overwhelming majority of the General Assembly members who represent Fairfax voted against it.”
How We Got Here
Over the last three years, lawmakers have gone back and forth trying to launch a Virginia casino within Fairfax County until SB 756 made it through the general assembly.
What eventually shot the bill down in the end was the 70/30 revenue split, with the majority going back to the state, which Jeff McKay, Chairman of the county board of supervisors, described as a “bad deal” for taxpayers.
Also, Gov. Spanberger urged the state to consider a statewide governing body that oversees all casino gambling in the state.