Fairfax County Supervisors Have Differing Tysons On line casino Opinions
- Laws is anticipated once more in Virginia to designate Fairfax County for a on line casino
- Most residents oppose the gaming push
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is struggling to discover a consensus concerning ongoing on line casino talks in Tysons or someplace else within the prosperous Northern Virginia suburbs.
The Tysons Nook Station alongside the Washington Metro Silver Line is pictured in December 2023. A state lawmaker representing Fairfax County believes a on line casino within the space would assist offset rising property taxes and produce youthful individuals, a lot of whom would make the most of the Metro, to Tysons. (Picture: Shutterstock)
Casinos in Virginia are restricted to cities designated by statute. Presently, solely Portsmouth, Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, and Petersburg can have services with slot machines, live-dealer desk video games, and sports activities betting.
Efforts within the Normal Meeting so as to add a sixth on line casino jurisdiction in Fairfax County have been led for a number of periods by Sen. David Marsden (D-Fairfax). Marsden is anticipated to reignite his push to qualify Fairfax for a on line casino in 2026, with Tysons the possible designation.
Being an even-numbered yr, the Virginia Meeting’s 2026 session runs for 2 months from January 14 by March 14.
New Tax Exercise
Marsden says the county wants new tax income, because the pandemic endlessly modified work-life preparations for among the many Fortune 500 corporations headquartered there.
Marsden additionally believes the area is now not engaging for youthful individuals relocating to the Washington, DC, metro. It’s one of many causes ridership on the Washington Metro Silver Line has underwhelmed.
“Fairfax County has change into a spot the place it’s not notably interesting to younger individuals of their 20s and 30s. They’re very a lot behind the on line casino idea,” Marsden mentioned in Could on “The Politics Hour.”
On line casino Consensus
There’s an enormous drawback standing in Marsden’s approach of bringing a on line casino to Northern Virginia — most residents don’t need Las Vegas in Tysons or wherever else within the area. Whereas some unions and commerce teams have embraced the push, no householders, neighborhood, or civic group has come out in help of playing.
The opposition has repeatedly known as on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to extra strongly voice its opposition to Marsden’s payments. Whereas the supervisors have mentioned they too typically oppose a on line casino, they’re reluctant to formally tackle the matter within the board’s annual submission of priorities to the Normal Meeting.
Every December, the board submits its priorities to its state delegates and senators. Supervisor Walter Alcorn (D-Hunter Mill) has proposed textual content to encourage the state lawmakers to oppose any invoice that will enable a on line casino in Fairfax County.
Oppose laws within the Normal Meeting that authorizes a on line casino in Fairfax County with none request for such laws from the Board of Supervisors… The designation and placement of a on line casino is inherently a serious land use resolution, and Normal Meeting intervention in Fairfax County’s land use processes would undermine many years of neighborhood consensus and financial success,” Alcorn’s proposed textual content reads.
Different supervisors, together with Chair Jeff McKay, say the on line casino matter ought to take a again seat to extra urgent points going through the county.
McKay believes addressing a on line casino might overshadow his rivalry that the state has did not correctly help counties. Bringing a on line casino dialogue to Richmond would possibly entice some elected officers from different elements of the state to get behind Marsden’s campaign to drive a on line casino on Fairfax County voters as an alternative of accelerating county funding on the state degree.
