Former Virginia NASCAR driver's skills competition lawsuit dismissed over injunction
As Virginia's ban on skill games took effect Wednesday, a Greensville County judge dismissed former NASCAR driver Hermie Sadler's legal challenge to the ban.
Sadler sued then-Governor of Virginia.Ralph Northam (D), June 2021, just as the administration cracks down on “slot machines.”
Sadler owns several truck stops and restaurants in and around his hometown of Emporia, southern Virginia. He argued the ban was "unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable." He criticized the Northam administration for legalizing casino gambling and sports betting while criminalizing games of skill.
The lawsuit claims the ban puts undue stress on business owners who rely on terminals to cope with coronavirus financial restrictions.
What is a game of skill?
Skill games have the look and feel of slot machines but include certain elements of skill. This may mean that players must make the "best decision" by determining their own winning line. Or, it's about completing a bonus game, where you have to memorize and repeat a sequence of flashing colors, for example.
Games of skill have existed in Virginia restaurants, bars and truck stops for two decades, and they exist in a legal gray area.
That was until 2020, when lawmakers voted to ban the machines entirely. But then-Gov. Northam laid out a 12-month plan to tax and regulate the machines. This will help shore up the financial health of companies that have struggled during the pandemic.
Sadler's lawsuit secured a delay in the ban until a final October ruling from the Virginia Supreme Court outlawing gambling on the machines.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares issued a statement saying enforcement should be delayed until Nov. 15.
"This is not a game of chance. These are games of skill. And you are not criminals. You are the backbone of Virginia," state Sen. Bill Stanley, Sadler's attorney, told the media outside the courthouse.
Law Enforcement Countdown
The machines are still widely used in the state, and police departments and sheriff's offices are grappling with how best to enforce the law changes. Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards told NBC on Tuesday that law enforcement should not be too harsh on businesses.
We know this is a bit sudden for some of our business owners. That’s why we have to make sure we get that message out to business owners and customers,” Edwards said.
But the American Gaming Association (AGA), the Washington-based trade association representing the regulated casino industry, isn’t letting up.
"So-called skill slot machines have a long history of operating out of bounds in Virginia, and their operators have shown they will protect their winnings at all costs," ASA Senior Vice President Chris Clyke said in a statement "This decision rightly reaffirms Virginia's prerogative to regulate gambling within its borders and now requires law enforcement to ensure these predatory machines are removed from communities throughout the Commonwealth."
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Source: www.casino.org
