After Maine, Virginia Online Poker Is on the Table

How Virginia Got to House Bill 161

Virginia’s gambling landscape changed a lot over the past six years. Retail casinos were authorized in 2019 and sports betting followed in 2020. Since then, sportsbooks have gone live statewide, permanent casinos opened in Bristol, Danville, and Portsmouth, and more projects are already underway, including a planned Petersburg casino expected to open in 2027.

However, during these six years, online poker remained behind the red tape. Lawmakers flirted with the idea last year, when two iGaming bills were introduced and then pulled early in the session. At the time, sponsors said the industry needed more study before anything substantial could happen in Old Dominion.

Out of that came House Bill 161, pre-filed ahead of the 2026 legislative session and sponsored by Delegate Marcus Simon. As Simon put it during one of the hearings last year:

What Bill 161 Would Actually Do

First, Bill 161 is not a poker-only proposal. The question of what happens with online poker is part of a broader online casino bill that also happens to include slots, table games, and live-dealer products.

If it passes, 161 would make online poker legal and regulated in Virginia for the first time. Oversight of all this would fall to the Virginia Lottery Board, which already regulates sports betting and casinos in the state.

The model mimics Virginia’s existing casino framework. Each of the state’s five licensed brick-and-mortar casinos could apply for an online gaming license and Each casino could operate up to three online platforms.

All of this is pretty standard. What’s more interesting is that the bill would allow Virginia to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement. Now, Virginia’s population is somewhere around 8.8 million, which on its own, is fine for poker. However, if you combine that with existing MSIGA states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New Jersey, it would expand player pools, tournament guarantees, and game availability.

Some Pushback

Despite bipartisan support, 161 is far from a homerun. Some argue that online casinos and poker would devastate revenue from Virginia’s retail casinos. Others are questioning whether the Virginia Lottery Board is already stretched too thin to take on another major regulatory responsibility.

Running alongside 161 is a separate debate over whether Virginia should first create a dedicated Virginia Gaming Commission. Oversight is currently split across three agencies, and some lawmakers believe further expansion should wait until regulation is consolidated.

Virginia Online Poker in 2026?

After Maine, Virginia is another sign that online poker is creeping back into statehouse conversations. If HB 161 advances, Virginia would instantly become one of the more important potential poker markets in the country, particularly if it joins MSIGA.

For now, nothing is legal, nothing is live, and no poker client is launching tomorrow. But unlike previous years, Virginia is no longer just talking about online poker in theory. It’s debating it in black and white, with a bill on the table and that’s worth a watch.