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SB756 • 2026

Casino gaming; eligible host localities.

An Act to amend and reenact §§ 58.1-4032, 58.1-4100, 58.1-4101, 58.1-4107, 58.1-4107.1, 58.1-4109, 58.1-4110, 58.1-4111, 58.1-4123, and 58.1-4125 of the Code of Virginia, relating to casino gaming; eligible host localities.

Taxes
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Surovell
Last action
2026-04-22
Official status
Governor's Veto
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill was vetoed by the Governor, which means it did not become law despite passing the Legislature. The candidate explanation incorrectly stated that the bill had been enacted.

Adding Fairfax County as a Place for Casinos

This act adds Fairfax County to the list of places that can have casinos and sets rules about where these casinos must be built.

What This Bill Does

  • Adds Fairfax County to the list of localities allowed to host casinos.
  • Requires any proposed casino site in Fairfax County to be within a quarter mile of an existing Metro Silver Line station.
  • Specifies that the casino must be part of a mixed-use project with at least 1.5 million square feet and located near a regional enclosed mall also having at least 1.5 million square feet.
  • Limits potential sites for casinos in Fairfax County to areas outside the Interstate 495 Beltway.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Fairfax County residents
  • Casino developers interested in building in Fairfax County

Terms To Know

Mixed-use project
A development that includes a mix of different types of buildings, such as residential, commercial, and recreational spaces.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill was vetoed by the Governor due to concerns about stripping local control over casino development.
  • This legislation only affects Fairfax County and does not apply to other areas in Virginia.
  • There are no specific details provided on how this will be enforced or funded.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

SB756AC

2026-03-13 • Conference

Conference Report

Plain English: The amendment recommends rejecting a previous House Amendment and accepting a new one to resolve disagreements over Senate Bill No. 756.

  • Rejects the House Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (26108839D).
  • Accepts a new Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (26109721D) to address disagreements.
  • The specific details and content of the new Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute are not provided, making it hard to explain further changes.
  • Without additional context or text from the amendment itself, we cannot describe what exactly is being changed in the bill.
SB756AC1

2026-03-14 • Conference

Conference Report

Plain English: The amendment recommends rejecting a previous House Amendment and accepting a new one to resolve disagreements about Senate Bill No. 756.

  • Rejects the House Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (26108839D).
  • Accepts a new Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (26110084D) to address disagreements.
  • The text does not provide details about what changes are included in the new amendment or why it is being accepted.
  • Specific content and impacts of the new amendment cannot be determined from this summary alone.
SB756AS1

2026-02-12 • Member

Senator Surovell Amendments

Plain English: The amendment removes specific wording from two sections related to casino gaming regulations.

  • Removes the text after 'is' on line 287 up to and including '(ii)' on line 288.
  • Removes the text after 'feet' (first instance) on line 289 up to and including 'Beltway' on line 290.
  • The exact impact of these changes is unclear without knowing what specific wording was removed.
  • Further context about the original bill's content would be needed to understand the full implications of this amendment.
SB756S2

2026-03-13 • Conference

Conference Report Substitute

Plain English: The amendment modifies sections related to sports betting permit applications by adding new requirements for background investigations and financial considerations.

  • Adds a requirement for applicants to submit detailed information about their background in sports betting, experience with wagering activities, internal controls, history of preventing compulsive gambling, procedures for detecting suspicious betting activity, and other relevant details.
  • Specifies that the Department must conduct thorough background investigations including credit history checks, tax record reviews, and criminal history screenings.
  • Establishes a limit on the number of permits issued by the Director, ensuring no fewer than four but no more than 12 permits are granted based on specific criteria.
  • The amendment text is truncated at the end, so some details about how permits will be prioritized for certain applicants and other specifics are not fully provided.
  • Some technical legal language may require further explanation to understand completely.
SB756S3

2026-03-14 • Conference

Conference Report Substitute

Plain English: The amendment changes the rules for issuing sports betting permits by adding new criteria and modifying existing ones.

  • Adds substantial and preferred consideration to applicants who have made or intend to make a capital investment of at least $300 million in a casino gaming establishment.
  • Modifies the number of permits that can be issued, specifying conditions under which certain permits do not count towards the minimum or maximum limit.
  • The exact impact and implementation details are unclear due to incomplete amendment text.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-22 Senate

    Passed by for the day

  2. 2026-04-22 Senate

    Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)

  3. 2026-04-11 Governor

    Vetoed by Governor

  4. 2026-04-06 Senate

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB756)

  5. 2026-03-31 Senate

    Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026

  6. 2026-03-31 Governor

    Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026

  7. 2026-03-31 House

    Signed by Speaker

  8. 2026-03-31 Senate

    Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026

  9. 2026-03-31 Governor

    Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026

  10. 2026-03-30 Senate

    Signed by President

  11. 2026-03-30 Senate

    Enrolled

  12. 2026-03-30 Senate

    Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB756ER)

  13. 2026-03-16 Senate

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB756)

  14. 2026-03-14 Senate

    Second conferees appointed by Senate

  15. 2026-03-14 Senate

    Conference report agreed to by Senate

  16. 2026-03-14 Senate

    Second conferees appointed by Senate

  17. 2026-03-14 Senate

    Senate Conferees: Surovell, Marsden, Reeves

  18. 2026-03-14 House

    House acceded to request for second conference committee

  19. 2026-03-14 House

    House Conferees: Torian, Willett, Hodges

  20. 2026-03-14 House

    House Conferees: Torian, Willett, Hodges

  21. 2026-03-14 Senate

    Senate requested second conference committee (30-Y 9-N 0-A)

  22. 2026-03-14 Conference

    Conference Report released

  23. 2026-03-14 Conference

    Conference Report released

  24. 2026-03-14 House

    Conferees appointed by House

  25. 2026-03-14 House

    House Conferees: Torian, Willett, Hodges

  26. 2026-03-14 House

    Passed by temporarily

  27. 2026-03-14 House

    Passed by temporarily

  28. 2026-03-14 Senate

    Conference report agreed to by Senate (25-Y 13-N 0-A)

  29. 2026-03-14 House

    Conference report agreed to by House (55-Y 41-N 0-A)

  30. 2026-03-13 Conference

    Conference Report released

  31. 2026-03-13 Senate

    Conference report agreed to by Senate (22-Y 16-N 0-A)

  32. 2026-03-04 Senate

    Conferees appointed by Senate

  33. 2026-03-04 Senate

    Senate Conferees: Surovell, Marsden, Reeves

  34. 2026-03-04 House

    Read third time

  35. 2026-03-04 House

    committee substitute rejected

  36. 2026-03-04 House

    committee substitute agreed to

  37. 2026-03-04 House

    Engrossed by House - committee substitute

  38. 2026-03-04 House

    Passed House with substitute (64-Y 32-N 0-A)

  39. 2026-03-04 House

    Reconsideration of passage agreed to by House

  40. 2026-03-04 House

    Passed House with substitute (59-Y 37-N 1-A)

  41. 2026-03-04 Senate

    House substitute rejected by Senate (0-Y 40-N 0-A)

  42. 2026-03-04 Senate

    Senate acceded to request Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

  43. 2026-03-04 House

    Conferees appointed by House

  44. 2026-03-04 House

    House Conferees: Torian, Willett, Hodges

  45. 2026-03-03 House

    Read second time

  46. 2026-03-02 Appropriations

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB756)

  47. 2026-02-27 General Laws

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB756)

  48. 2026-02-27 House

    House committee offered

  49. 2026-02-27 Appropriations

    Reported from Appropriations with substitute (18-Y 4-N)

  50. 2026-02-27 Appropriations

    Committee substitute printed 26108839D-H2

  51. 2026-02-25 Commerce Agriculture & Natural Resources

    Assigned HAPP sub: Commerce Agriculture & Natural Resources

  52. 2026-02-25 General Laws

    Committee substitute printed 26108497D-H1

  53. 2026-02-24 General Laws

    Reported from General Laws with substitute and referred to Appropriations (12-Y 8-N)

  54. 2026-02-24 House

    House committee offered

  55. 2026-02-23 House

    Placed on Calendar

  56. 2026-02-23 House

    Read first time

  57. 2026-02-23 General Laws

    Referred to Committee on General Laws

  58. 2026-02-19 Senate

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB756)

  59. 2026-02-13 Senate

    Read third time and passed Senate (23-Y 14-N 0-A)

  60. 2026-02-12 Senate

    Read second time

  61. 2026-02-12 Senate

    Read second time

  62. 2026-02-12 Senate

    Engrossed by Senate as amended (Voice Vote)

  63. 2026-02-12 Finance and Appropriations

    Finance and Appropriations Substitute rejected

  64. 2026-02-12 Senate

    Reading of amendment waived (Voice Vote)

  65. 2026-02-12 Senate

    Senator Surovell Amendments agreed to

  66. 2026-02-12 Senate

    Engrossed by Senate (Voice Vote)

  67. 2026-02-12 Senate

    Floor offered

  68. 2026-02-11 Senate

    Rules suspended

  69. 2026-02-11 Senate

    Passed by for the day

  70. 2026-02-11 Finance and Appropriations

    Committee substitute printed 26107647D-S1

  71. 2026-02-11 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

  72. 2026-02-11 Senate

    Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

  73. 2026-02-10 Finance and Appropriations

    Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (10-Y 5-N)

  74. 2026-01-28 General Laws and Technology

    Reported from General Laws and Technology and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (11-Y 4-N)

  75. 2026-01-28 Senate

    Fiscal Impact Review From JLARC (1/28/2026 10:24 am)

  76. 2026-01-26 Senate

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB756)

  77. 2026-01-23 Gaming

    Assigned GL&T sub: Gaming

  78. 2026-01-20 Senate

    Presented and ordered printed 26100598D

  79. 2026-01-20 General Laws and Technology

    Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology

Official Summary Text

Casino gaming; eligible host localities.
Adds Fairfax County to the list of localities eligible to host a casino in the Commonwealth and provides that any proposed site for a casino gaming establishment considered by Fairfax County shall be (i) located within one-quarter of a mile of an existing station on the Metro Silver Line, (ii) part of a coordinated mixed-use project development consisting of no less than 1.5 million square feet, (iii) within two miles of a regional enclosed mall containing not less than 1.5 million square feet of gross building area, and (iv) outside of the Interstate 495 Beltway.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
(SB756)
GOVERNOR'S VETO
Pursuant to Article V, Section 6 of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto Senate Bill 756 as it would strip the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors of control over the local approval process, require the county to set a referendum, and set a broader precedent.
Per existing law, once the General Assembly decides a locality is “eligible” for a casino regardless of the locality's preferences, the local governing board has a non-discretionary, ministerial duty to adopt a resolution and petition the court to hold the referendum. Therefore, local governing boards should lead on proposed casino development, as has been the prior standard and process. Senate Bill 756 would effectively change this standard and eliminate local control.
While this legislation only affects Fairfax County, it would set a precedent that could be used to bring casino referendums to other localities where the local governing boards may similarly oppose such efforts.
Accordingly, I veto this bill.