Voters Approve Casinos In Virginia, Sports Betting In Three States

The state of Virginia will be getting four casinos after voters supported a ballot referendum that approved operations in four cities. Voters in Maryland, Louisiana and South Dakota approved sports betting, according to industry site CDC Gaming Reports Inc. With sports betting on its way to these three states, sports betting will be available in half of the country by the end of 2021.

The Virginia casinos will be positioned in the southern part of the state. Bristol, Virginia, which sits on the Tennessee border, is getting a casino expected to siphon gambling money away from a state that doesn't currently offer casino gaming. Danville, Virginia is another border city getting a casino. It sits on North Carolina border, a state that features just two Indian casinos.

Portsmouth and Norfolk are the other two Virginia cities getting casinos.

Sports betting in South Dakota will be limited to the Deadwood Indian reservation near the Wyoming border where all of the state's casinos are located. In Louisiana, voters in Baton Rouge and New Orleans approved the measure to allow sports betting. Full results across Louisiana are not yet in, but sports betting was voted on in all 64 parishes.

“As a result of successful ballot measures in six gaming states, more Americans will have access to much-needed job opportunities, dedicated tax revenue, and safe, regulated entertainment options closer to home," the American Gaming Association said of Tuesday's voting news.

“Some form of legal gaming is currently authorized in 44 states, and more than 45 percent of American adults – 115 million – live in states with legal, regulated sports betting and the safeguards these markets provide."












Written by
Joe Kinsey is the Senior Director of Content of OutKick and the editor of the Morning Screencaps column that examines a variety of stories taking place in real America. Kinsey is also the founder of OutKick’s Thursday Night Mowing League, America’s largest virtual mowing league. Kinsey graduated from University of Toledo.