Fairfax casino bill now says resort can be built anywhere in county

Legislation to present Fairfax County voters with a casino referendum this fall progressed through the Virginia State Senate on Friday with a bipartisan vote.

The bill, which was amended last week, now says that a casino could be built anywhere in the county, instead of its previous restriction to Tysons. A majority of voters would still have to approve the referendum on ballots for a Fairfax casino to be built, but on its third consecutive try in the Virginia General Assembly, the bill to include the county as a potential casino host has made it farther than it ever has before.

On the Feb. 13 vote, 23 Democratic and Republican senators voted yea, while 14 senators from both parties opposed the measure. Two Democrats and one Republican did not vote. The bill, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Scott Surovell, will now go to the House of Delegates.

Previously, the bill included language that a proposed casino must be located within a quarter-mile of an existing Metro Silver Line station, but that language was struck Feb. 12.

Under state law, only five cities in Virginia can legally host a commercial casino, but since 2024, Fairfax County senators have tried to expand the opportunity to their county. However, there is considerable opposition to a casino among community groups, and in December 2025, the county Board of Supervisors narrowly approved a resolution opposing casino legislation, unless the board requests such legislation.

January casino revenue

Meanwhile, the Virginia Lottery released January data for the state’s five casinos last week, including the Petersburg temporary venue that opened Jan. 22.

Gaming revenues for January totaled $81.07 million, the lottery reported.

January’s total adjusted gaming revenue (AGR) for Virginia casinos is down about 6.37% from December 2025’s AGR of $86.5 million and up 12.07% from January 2025’s $72.34 million.

Caesars Virginia in Danville reported the largest AGR for January: approximately $30.5 million. Of that, $21.79 million came from its 1,506 slots, and the remaining roughly $8.71 million came from its 94 table games.

Rivers Casino Portsmouth generated $18.47 million from its 1,421 slots and $6.75 million from its 84 table games, for a total AGR of approximately $25.22 million in January.

Last month, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol reported about $19.54 million in AGR, with nearly $15.81 million of that coming from its 1,369 slots and about $3.73 million coming from its 73 table games.

And in its first 10 days of being open, the temporary Petersburg casino reported nearly $4.7 million in AGR, with $3.9 million coming from 926 slots and $789,200 coming from 32 table games. Baltimore-based The Cordish Cos. and Virginia Beach developer Bruce Smith Enterprise broke ground in March 2025 on the $1.4 billion Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia, slated to open in 2027.

Virginia law assesses a graduated tax on a casino’s adjusted gaming revenue. For the month of January taxes from casino AGRs totaled roughly $14.58 million.

Norfolk’s temporary Interim Gaming Hall, which opened in November 2025, reported adjusted gaming revenue (wagers minus winnings) of $1.05 million during the month. All of that came from its roughly 132 slots, as the temporary casino doesn’t have table games. A permanent $750 million Norfolk casino, being developed by Boyd Gaming and the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, is anticipated to open in 2027.

Under Virginia law, 6% of a casino operator’s AGR goes to its host locality until the operator passes $200 million in AGR for the year, at which point the host locality’s tax rate rises to 7%. If an operator passes $400 million in AGR in the calendar year, that rises to 8%.

For January, Danville received 6% of Caesars Virginia’s AGR, amounting to almost $1.83 million. Portsmouth received 6% of the Rivers Casino Portsmouth‘s AGR, netting $1.51 million. For the Bristol casino, 6% of its adjusted gaming revenue — about $1.17 million last month — goes to the Regional Improvement Commission, which the General Assembly established to distribute Bristol casino tax funds throughout Southwest Virginia. Norfolk received $63,282 from the temporary casino while Petersburg received $281,735.