Up to three sites per operator
A bill has been filed in Virginia that would legalize poker, along with other forms of internet gaming, in the state. Introduced by Northern Virginia Democrat Marcus Simon on Tuesday, HB161 would place online gambling under the regulatory authority of the Virginia Lottery Board.
There appear to be multiple fees involved with licensing. Each notice of intent to the Director of the Virginia Lottery to conduct internet gaming must be accompanied by a $2 million “platform fee.” According to the bill, an “internet gaming platform” is “an integrated system of hardware, software, applications, including mobile applications, and servers through which an internet gaming operator operates, conducts, or offers internet gaming.” After the five-year term, the renewal is $1 million.
Separate from that is an “internet gaming operator license,” which is basically what it sounds like: a license to offer internet gambling. These cost $500,000, with a renewal price of $250,000.
Gaming operators would be limited to no more than three internet gambling platforms. They can launch their own or through a licensed platform provider. Each of an operator’s three gaming sites would have to fall under the same branding umbrella, except if the operator has a poker site. In that case, the online poker room could have its own, distinct brand, separate from the operator’s other Virginia gaming sites.
Operators can have fewer than three platforms and are allowed to have poker as a lone platform. Live internet casino games are also permitted; the live dealer studios can be in Virginia or elsewhere.
Interstate poker networks allowed
Importantly, HB161 allows for the Virginia Lottery Board to enter into agreements with regulators in other states to implement cross-border (within the US) gaming. This means that Virginia could join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) and have future online poker rooms share liquidity with sites in other states.
There are currently only six states with legal online poker: Nevada, New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia. While it legalized online poker in 2019, West Virginia is the most recent to actually have internet poker rooms; Rush Street Interactive’s (RSI) BetRivers went live in the Mountain State in June 2025. It simultaneously launched in Delaware and Michigan, creating the country’s fourth interstate online poker network. Pennsylvania is also part of the network, having seen BetRivers launch there in November 2024.
BetRivers infiltrated what had long been an industry dominated by three players: World Series of Poker (WSOP), PokerStars, and BetMGM. WSOP Online spans Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, while PokerStars and BetMGM are in those same states, minus Nevada.
