SB 819 Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Lottery, casino gaming, etc.; Va. Lottery shall study responsibility of gaming, age verification.

Summary

Virginia Lottery; powers of the Virginia Lottery Board; advertising restrictions; age verification. Directs the Virginia Lottery to study the feasibility of furthering responsible gaming as it relates to the lottery, casino gaming, and sports betting, and to develop an implementation plan to require all lottery terminals to possess proper age verification software to ensure that a consumer is 18 years of age or older. The Director of the Virginia Lottery shall report any findings to the Chairs of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology by October 1, 2026.

Issues: ✓ Technology

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 23, 2026 Last action Mar 10, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

General Laws and Technology Substitute → Finance and Appropriations Substitute · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was transferred from the General Laws and Technology Committee to the Finance and Appropriations Committee, shifting focus from immediate age verification mandates to a feasibility study on responsible gaming advertising. The Finance version adds a requirement for the Virginia Lottery to develop an implementation plan for age verification software, including cost estimates and phased schedules, while removing the immediate prohibition on selling tickets to minors. This change delays age verification enforcement and places greater emphasis on studying advertising restrictions before implementation.

Scope change

The bill's scope shifted from immediate regulatory enforcement to a study and planning phase, with age verification requirements now contingent on future implementation plans rather than existing regulations.

REQUIREMENT

Removed the immediate prohibition on selling lottery tickets to persons under 18 years of age and the associated Class 1 misdemeanor penalty for licensees who knowingly sell to minors.

Added a requirement for the Virginia Lottery Board and Director to develop an implementation plan for age verification software, including phased schedules, completion dates, cost estimates, and recommendations for statutory changes.

TIMELINE

Changed the reporting requirement from a general study report to include both a study report and implementation plan, with costs to be included in revenue estimates submitted to the Governor.

FISCAL

Added requirement that implementation costs must be included in revenue estimates and can only proceed after being adopted in a general appropriation act.

SCOPE

Narrowed the bill's focus by removing the immediate age verification mandate and selling prohibition, making age verification a future implementation decision rather than current law.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 13, 2026

How they voted

34–0

Passed · 5 other

Total votes 39

Feb 13, 2026

D Democratic20

19 Yea 1

95% Yea

R Republican19

15 Yea 4

78% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

Subcommittee recommends laying on the table (7-Y 2-N)

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Committee

Assigned HGL sub: ABC/Gaming

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on General Laws

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time and passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

upper

Feb 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day

upper

Feb 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (15-Y 0-N)

upper

Feb 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from General Laws and Technology with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N 1-A)

upper

Jan 23, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology

upper

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Presented and ordered printed 26105677D

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors