Virginia’s 2024 legislative session kicked off with a bang when Democrats attempted to approve a casino development in Tysons Corner, a city consisting of clusters of corporate headquarters and retail establishments with multi-unit residential properties sprinkled throughout.

Proponents of casinos maintained that gaming clubs would increase tax revenue and expand job growth in the area. But local residents were outraged, writing hundreds of letters to Virginia legislators in opposition.

The fight against Senate Bill 675 was on. And rightly so.

Study after study reveal that casinos have a negative effect on surrounding communities.
A National Association of Realtors 2013 “Literature Survey and Issue Analysis” states that due to factors such as increased traffic congestion, noise, and crime, “the impact [of casinos] on home values appears to be unambiguously negative.”

Furthermore, two aspects of Senate Bill 675 raised significant concerns. First, the very specific requirement that the proposed casino site be located within one-quarter of a mile
of an existing station on the Metro Silver Line. Casinos that contribute to tax revenue do so because gamblers stay for several days spending money on hotel stays, local restaurants, and retail establishments. But convenient placement near a metro stop means gamblers can drop in for just a few hours then hop on the metro to go home, wiping out hopes for increased tax income from tourism.

An even more troubling requirement buried in the legislation was that the host city had to have a U.S.Census Bureau 2019 poverty rate of at least 21 percent. An Auburn University paper observes that it is often low-income individuals who are attracted to the “get rich” prospect of gambling, the very segment of society that can least afford to gamble.

Gambling’s financial bleed impacting low-income residents can result in their need for public assistance through taxpayer-funded state and federal programs. Sam Skolnik, author of High Stakes: The Rising Cost of America’s Gambling Addiction commented, “Essentially, [legislators are] admitting that they know they are creating a class of gamblers who become
addicts. If you know what you’re doing creates problems, is this appropriate policy?”

The very notion of developing large-scale casinos may already be an outdated concept. The trend for modern gamblers is online-betting parlors such as Draft Kings and FanDuel, with the number of users projected to sharply increase over the next five years. Given that much of online gambling’s revenue is anticipated to come from the United States, in-person gambling may very well go the way of store video rentals, camera film, and gas station attendants who fill your tank.

Clearly, the evidence shows that the Virginia legislators’ policy of approving casinos is, in fact, inappropriate. Perhaps this is why the sponsor of the casino bill, Virginia Democratic Senator David Marsden, did not offer up his own district for the casino’s location. Was he influenced by the $24,000 campaign contribution he received from Building a Remarkable Virginia PAC, a political action committee formed by the developer behind the casino project?

The casino bill first landed in the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology where Democrats overwhelmingly approved it, including local politician Suhas Subramanyam. Ultimately, the legislation was “continued” by another Senate Committee which simply means they put in place a process to reconsider this egregious bill next year.

One must ask why our local representative, Suhas Subramanyam, would support a local gaming casino. Just as gambling lures individuals with dreams of hitting the jackpot but often results in dire financial consequences, so too does the presence of casinos.

While in the short term, the economic boost of construction and jobs creation provides an illusion of success, the long-term loss in real estate tax revenue and increased demand for public assistance results in a drain on the local economy.

We should not elect legislators who support casinos, and we should not reward Suhas Subramanyam for voting in favor of them. Subramanyam must lose his bid to represent Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Dear Red Virginia News Editor,

Casinos, lotteries, and “skill games” are ways to rob poor people.

Arthur Purves
Former Candidate, Fairfax County Supervisor Chairperson – At Large