Richmond Legally Barred From Conducting Third Casino Referendum

Richmond legally barred from holding third casino referendum

The Richmond City Council and its mayor, Levar Stoney, are eager to build a commercial casino. Voters in Virginia's capital, however, twice voted against casino projects proposed by the local government. Now, the city is legally prohibited from asking ballot questions about the casino again.

On Tuesday, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) signed two measures that effectively bar Richmond from further consideration of casino development.

The one from Del. House Bill 525, introduced by Rep. Paul Krizek (D-Alexandria), prohibits eligible casino cities from holding follow-up referendums requiring local voters to approve gaming resort developments for three years from the date of a failed referendum.

More important to Richmond is House Bill 1131, introduced by Del. Betsy Carr (D-Richmond) is introduced. The legislation excludes Richmond from being a casino city.

Richmond joins Norfolk, Portsmouth, Bristol and Danville in being included in 2020 legislation that would allow municipalities to weigh casino projects to boost economic development.

Richmond Casino State Discard

Just over 51% of voters in the capital rejected a proposed 2021 casino plan called ONE Casino + Resort, a $562 million project targeting the South End near the Philip Morris factory.

City officials believe a more concerted campaign to explain the economic benefits such a resort would bring would have produced different results. They went back to the drawing board and presented a new proposal in November 2023.

However, there was more opposition in the Richmond casino vote last fall: 58% of Richmond residents voted against the project called the Richmond Grand Resort & Casino. Voters in four other cities allocated casino opportunities voted to approve their respective resorts.

Richmond's casino failure may be due to the city's selection of Urban One as its preferred development partner. As a media company focused on the Black community, the publicly traded company lacks experience developing or operating casinos or hotels.

Urban One leadership's divisive rhetoric in the lead-up to last November's vote didn't help either.

“Don’t forget, they don’t see you as a human being,” Urban One founder Cathy Hughes said of casino opponents on the show, many of whom may be white Richmonders in affluent neighborhoods. . "Even if you have a house like them, a car like them, they will treat you as N."

Richmond Lifted

Kahl's bill, which would prevent Richmond from holding another referendum in November 2026 or later, has unanimous support in the House and Senate. All 100 House members and 40 Senate members voted in favor of HB 1131.

The bill repeals the state’s 2020 gaming law that applies to Richmond, which reads:

Any city with a population of more than 200,000, based on 2018 population estimates from the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service; (ii) At least 24% of the assessed value of all real property in that city is exempt from the tax, according to the Virginia Department of Revenue’s FY 2018 Annual Report Local property taxes; (iii) The 2017 Census Bureau poverty rate was at least 24%, according to the United States. "

The two gambling measures Youngkin signed are among more than 100 bills the governor signed into law this week. He vetoed only four of 104 bills.

The vetoes affected legislation on climate change, environmental knowledge, court filings and the sale of certain plant species.

Youngkin has yet to respond to the law that would make Peterborough host a casino.