Virginia committee advances bill to require age checks and study targeted lottery advertising
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Summary
The Senate General Laws Committee advanced an amended bill that would require age verification for lottery terminals, restrict targeted digital advertising, and ask the Virginia Lottery to report on implementation and broader gaming-advertising practices. The measure was sent to the Finance Committee.
The Senate General Laws and Technology Committee voted to send an amended version of Senate Bill 819 to the Finance Committee after hearing extensive testimony about age verification at lottery terminals and restrictions on targeted digital advertising.
Sen. Sutterline, the bill—s patron, told the committee the measure seeks two core reforms: require that lottery terminals have age-verification software to ensure players are 18 or older, and prohibit targeted digital advertising that uses geolocation, consumer profiles, or purchase history. "We're not going to advertise the lottery to specific people, especially folks that might have issues with purchasing too much," Sutterline said.
Khali Jones, executive director of the Virginia Lottery, told the committee the agency is not taking a formal position but warned that parts of the proposal could reduce revenues. Jones said Virginia has roughly 5,300 retail lottery outlets and about 2,052 machines statewide and that similar restrictions in other states have produced significant declines in sales. "We see about a 2 to 1 volume difference" in one border store with machines on the North Carolina side, Jones said, arguing that some restrictions could reduce revenues and affect related funds such as a debt setoff fund that currently brings in roughly $12 million a year.
Committee members pressed on practical steps for implementation. Sen. Roem noted the bill's section requiring terminals to "possess proper age verification software" and asked whether existing machines could be adapted; Jones replied that the capability exists but implementation would require hardware and software changes. Other members questioned whether requiring ID insertion or image-based checks would be workable in kiosks and rest-stop locations.
Lawmakers reached an accommodation to preserve the age-verification portion for further fiscal and technical review while charging the Lottery director with producing a report on the feasibility of broader advertising restrictions and how they would relate to sports and casino gaming. The committee voted to keep lines 98—6 through 106 (the age-verification language) and to add an enactment clause directing the Lottery director to report to the chairs of the Senate and House General Laws committees by Oct. 1 on options and impacts.
The committee then voted to refer the amended bill to the Finance Committee for further consideration.
What—s next: The Lottery director will prepare the requested report and the Finance Committee will consider the fiscal implications of machine upgrades and any revenue impacts before the General Assembly considers final action.