Poker bill makes it to the Senate in Virginia

A Senator was trying to define poker as a game of skill in the state.

US.- The Senate Bill 1400, introduced by Senator Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, finally made it through the Senate Committee. After numerous attempts to define poker as a game of skill, the committee voted 8-7 and approved her bill.

“I had the law on my side,” said Lucas after the Committee approved her bill. The bill revolves around the legal definition of poker, which states that “Poker games shall be deemed games of skill, and nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to make any such game illegal gambling.” If the bill passes the Senate, legal poker tournaments would be featured at licensed bingo parlors, and it would limit them to US$100 a hand.

Even though the future of the bill is still uncertain, the approval looks like a nod to Lucas, who has been submitting the same bill for three years. If the full Senate approves SB 1400, the poker bill would need to pass the House of Delegates, which is known for bot being gambling-friendly. Last year there effort got taken down after they voted 7-5 against the bill, whilst in 2015 it was killed 10-4. In 2017, Sen. William R. DeSteph Jr., R-Virginia Beach, surprisingly voted in favor, along with other seven Democrats: Jeremy McPike, Jennifer Wexton, Scott Surovell, Monty Mason, Marnie Locke, George Baxter and Adam Ebbin.

Virginia currently offers a state lottery, pari-mutuel betting and last year daily fantasy sports were legalised, a major achievement for a state that’s against gambling. Virginia created a framework that defines the legal characteristics of daily fantasy sports as some regulators consider that the chance of winning them depends on luck and not on skills.