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A casino in your pocket? Bill hopes to bring online gambling to Virginia

By Luke Lukert

A casino could be coming to your pocket if you live in Virginia or just drive into the commonwealth. Lawmakers are looking at the possibility of legalizing online casinos.

House Bill 161 would allow the five approved retail casinos to open up to three online platforms that would let you play blackjack or craps for money right on your phone.

Each casino would have to pay a $2 million platform fee as well as an initial licensing fee of $500,000.

The bill, sponsored by Del. Marcus Simon, of Falls Church, proposes that online gambling will be overseen by the Virginia Lottery Board, much like retail gambling, and will be taxed at 15% of adjusted gross revenue.

A small portion, 5%, of those taxes would be allocated to the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund.

A similar bill failed to advance in the Virginia Senate last year.

Lawmakers are set to return to Richmond on Wednesday.

Casinos and gambling have been somewhat of a hot topic in Virginia in recent years.

Last month, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors narrowly voted to oppose a possible casino opening in Tysons, ahead of the General Assembly’s return to session this week.

The idea originated in the Virginia Senate but was put on pause by lawmakers in the lower chamber in February 2025.

Former Brazilian au pair testifies her ex-lover plotted to kill his wife, though lacks some details

By The Associated Press
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A former Brazilian au pair testified on Wednesday that she turned against her former lover in a sprawling double homicide scheme involving his wife because she “wanted the truth to come out.” For more than a year, Juliana Peres Magalhães did not speak with officials about the 2023 killings of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan, or about Brendan Banfield’s alleged involvement. But attorneys say that days before her own criminal trial, the former au pair changed her mind and began to talk. Now, Brendan Banfield is facing a trial in the aggravated murder of his wife and Ryan, and Magalhães’ testimony has become a key component of prosecutors’ case. Banfield, who has pleaded not guilty, could face life in prison if convicted. The way officials tell it, Banfield and Magalhães lured Ryan to their house. The two then shot him, staging the scene to look as if Ryan had been a predator stabbing Christine Banfield.
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