Virginia’s only permanent casino, Rivers Portsmouth, has agreed to pay over half a million dollars for failing to control its entry points and allowing underage and voluntarily self-excluded persons to enter the casino floor.
The Virginia Lottery, which oversees gaming in the state, has negotiated a settlement with the casino, owned by Rush Street Gaming, the owner of the BetRivers and PlaySugarHouse brands. The $505,000 settlement was reached after the Lottery asserted alleged violations of Virginia’s Casino Gaming Law. While there haven’t been any formal findings, the regulator and the casino reviewed four alleged violations:
- Presence of underage persons on the casino floor between December 2023 and January 2024.
- Presence of voluntary self-excluded persons on the casino floor in January 2024.
- Failure to control and surveil entry points in June 2023, July 2023, and February 2024.
- Improper reporting of table game revenue between September 2023 and January 2024.
The settlement is the largest so far between the casino and the Lottery, resulting from repeated violations. In March 2023, Rivers Portsmouth agreed to pay $275,000 for allowing underage and self-excluded persons on the casino floor in January and February 2023.
The casino paid another $40,000 in September 2023 for allowing underage persons on the casino floor. With the latest settlement, Rivers Portsmouth has paid a total of $820,000 for failing to control its casino entrance.
Virginia Casinos Struggle With Access Control
Rivers Portsmouth is not the only one failing to monitor the entry of underage and self-excluded persons. The Lottery has alleged that the two temporary casinos in the state have also violated gambling laws. In September 2023, Caesars Virginia agreed to pay $40,000 for breaches between June and August 2023 by allowing underage and self-excluded patrons to enter.
Hard Rock International, which has delayed the opening of its permanent Bristol casino, has also paid a similar amount for its temporary casino. In June 2023, the operator agreed to pay $50,000 for allegedly violating Virginia law by allowing self-excluded persons to enter the casino floor.
Violations Could Undermine Eventual iGaming Advocacy
Rush Street’s success with the BetRivers brand may mean it’s among the proponents of Virginia iGaming expansion when the time for that comes. However, the repeated compliance failures could eventually come back to haunt those hoping to see online casinos in Virginia. Regulated pnline casinos in states like New Jersey and Pennsylvania use the Know Your Customer process to verify players’ identities. Even so, concerns about accessibility to minors are frequently raised by those who oppose legalization.
Some lawmakers fear that online casinos’ inability to “see” the customer can lead to kids using their parents’ IDs or those with gambling problems using someone else’s account. Companies like Rush Street will want to have squeaky-clean reputations with local regulators before raising the subject.
The potential success of an iGaming proposal will also likely depend on Virginia’s young retail casino industry finding its footing and establishing itself. The state legalized retail casinos in 2020 with a plan for five locations.
However, besides the Rivers permanent casino and the two temporary locations, the fourth and fifth casinos are in limbo. The fourth licensee, the Pamunkey Tribe, might abandon its planned Norfolk casino, HeadWaters Casino Resort. That would force the process to start anew.
Meanwhile, the fifth location is still to be determined. Richmond voters rejected a casino twice through referendums, which led to the state selecting Petersburg as a potential alternative.
However, residents will have the last say with a possible third referendum. That’s still uncertain, as city officials controversially selected Cordish Companies behind closed doors. Critics said the process lacked transparency. Unite Here, a hospitality workers’ union, threatened to sue the city.
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