Complete Guide to Online Casinos in Virginia

Top Gambling Sites Serving Virginia

• Everygame  – Best Gambling Site for Virginians
• SlotsandCasino  – Best VA Casino Site
• BetUS  – Best Virginia Sports Betting Site
• Ignition Casino  – Best Poker Room for VA
• BC.Game  – Best Crypto Site for Virginia
• BetOnline  – Best Live Dealer Site for Virginians
• Slots Empire  – Best VA Bonus Site
• DuckyLuck Casino  – Best Virginia Video Poker Site

Comparison of Top Sites Serving Virginia

Our Selection Criteria

Bonuses

Entertainment

Safety

Transactions

When we’re vetting online sites for American gamblers, we don’t just pick a number. We have detailed rules for how we rank each entity, be it a casino, a poker room, a sportsbook, or some combination of the three. We call this our B.E.S.T. system—a star rating that is an aggregate of dozens of individual scores we tally as we examine each feature of the site. We rank each gambling site for Virginians based on the following categories:

• Bonuses — The most popular method for gambling sites to attract customers is offering a welcome bonus to new patrons. We look at these offers carefully, comparing them to industry averages and standards. And we don’t just stop at the welcome bonus. We also grade the site on the number and quality of their free spin, reload, referral, and loyalty bonuses.
• Entertainment Features — Judging how entertaining a gambling site may be is a very subjective thing. That’s why we stick to grading the various attributes of a gambling site that promote or enhance the probability that Virginian gamblers will be entertained. Broadly, we assess the site’s user interface for usability, and look at the differences between a site’s PC and mobile platforms. We tally the quantity and variety of games at casinos, and check the speed and streaming quality of live dealer tables. We also examine sportsbooks for wagering options like live betting and bet builders.
• Safety and Security — The security of your personal and financial information is paramount among the characteristics we look for when grading a gambling site. We ensure that the site uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) for data encryption. We check that the site has a clearly written and adequately protective privacy policy. Before we recommend a gambling site to Virginians, we want to make sure the site deserves our recommendation and your business.
• Transactions — We pay particular attention to the data security of financial transactions. A site’s score here is based on how well the site adheres to banking-level encryption in both its deposit and withdrawal methods. We examine the speed of its withdrawal processing, and we verify whether the site charges fees for those withdrawals.

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Is Gambling Legal in Virginia?

Legal gambling is a relatively new phenomenon in Old Dominion. Only since 1973 have modern Virginians been afforded options when it comes to gambling. Sports betting is no longer outlawed, nor are lotteries, bingo halls, or casinos.

Casinos are a new addition to the commonwealth’s portfolio of in-state gambling options, with two already operational, and another two in development with projected openings in 2024.

The Virginia Lottery Board is charged with the regulation and administration of not only the state lottery, but all forms of gambling, with the notable exceptions of horseracing and bingo. Those latter two are controlled by the Virginia Racing Commission and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), respectively. Incidentally, greyhound racing is explicitly prohibited in Virginia.

Land-Based Gambling Options in Virginia

While most of the casinos approved by the legislature are still in the planning or construction stage, at least two have opened their doors in 2023. But while brick & mortar casinos may currently be few and far between, other in-state gambling options are open throughout the state. Here’s a rundown:

Horse Racing

Colonial Downs is the only thoroughbred racing track operating in the state of Virginia. Located in New Kent about 30 miles east of Richmond, the track offers parimutuel wagering on both seasonal live races as well as on simulcasts of selected races throughout the country.

Off-Track Betting

Casinos

Lottery

The Virginia State Lottery participates in multi-state lotteries such as mega Millions and Powerball, and it offers a wide range of its own games, including instant win tickets, draw games, and scratch-off cards. There are more than 5,000 retailers selling Virgina lottery tickets, and the company recently added online purchases to its option. This requires the player to set up an account; lottery tickets may then be bought via phone, tablet, or laptop, or desktop, though the player must be in Virginia at the time of purchase.

Horse Racing

Poker Rooms

Currently, there is only one poker room operating in the state of Virginia. Inside the Rivers Casino Portsmouth is a poker room featuring 24 tables dealing hold’em, Omaha and Omaha hi-lo. There are hourly $200 high hand prizes, daily $500 royal flush prizes, and a bad beat jackpot up to $100,000. This poker room is not currently running tournaments.

Bingo

Virginia Gambling Timeline

Future of Gambling in Virginia

The recent addition of in-state and online sportsbooks certainly suggests Virginia is emerging from a more or less gambling-free slumber. While restrictions on collegiate sports will almost as certainly remain on the books for years to come, the state is slowly permitting other options for gambling to emerge.

For instance, commercial casinos are already starting to pop up around the state, with at least two operational (in temporary facilities) and others are still in the planning or development stages.

There are some recent setbacks, however. In the summer of 2023, the Pamunkey tribe withdrew its plans for a casino resort to be built near Norfolk. The project, originally in excess of $500 million, was later reduced to a $150 million project that tribal leaders called a phased development plan.

Until commercial casinos and sportsbooks proliferate throughout the state, offshore gambling will remain a fact of life to Virginian gamblers.

Gambling Responsibly

Having only recently legislated commercial-grade gambling operations to operate in Virginia, the state has yet to produce a study concerning responsible gambling among Virginians.

Still, research in other states as well as national studies suggest that between five and ten percent of all people who gamble regularly are in danger of exhibiting behavior consistent with the description of problem gambling. That means, of Virginia’s adult (18 and over) population of 5.3 million, there are possibly between a quarter and half a million people who could be prone to gambling addiction.

If you know of someone having problems with gambling in Virginia, here are a number of resources that can help:

• Viriginia Council on Problem Gambling
• The Virginia Problem Gambling Helpline: 888-532-3500
• Gamblers Anonymous Virginia meeting list

Legal Sources

1. Code of Virginia § 59.1-405.1, Virginia Legislative Information System
2. Code of Virginia § 18.2-325, Virginia Legislative Information System
3. Code of Virginia § 18.2-334, Virginia Legislative Information System
4. Code of Virginia § 58.1-4039, Virginia Legislative Information System
5. SB 462, Virginia Legislative Information System
6. SB 1126, Virginia Legislative Information System
7. HB 2749, Virginia Legislative Information System
8. HB 1242, Virginia Legislative Information System
9. Code of Virginia § 59.1-364, Virginia Legislative Information System
10. Code of Virginia § 58.1-4001, Virginia Legislative Information System
11. Virginia Gambling Timeline, Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services

Gambling Online in Virginia

This guide to online casinos in Virginia provided a detailed overview of the state’s gambling landscape. It revealed EveryGame as the best overall gambling site available in the state, thanks to a loaded casino and impressive sportsbook.

You also know of several Virginia online casinos and sportsbooks you can visit for specific niches, too. Ignition Casino ranks as the top-choice poker room for VA gamblers, BC.game is the best site to gamble with cryptocurrency online, and BetOnline is the best gambling site to play live dealer games.

There’s more options to peruse, with your specific interest being the deciding factor in where you might play next. In addition to online gambling sites, you can bet on horse races, play the lottery, or visit casinos in person in the state.

Ready to get started gambling online in Virginia? It’s suggested you head to EveryGame first, but any of the vetted options in this guide will do.

Kevin

Roberts

Content Editor

Articles

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Kevin Roberts, previously published under the pseudonym Noah Davis, is one of the more diverse writers at GamblingSites.com. Like many of his colleagues, he’s a huge fan of both football and basketball. But he also writes about box office records, TV show prop bets, DFS, and all kinds of other subjects. When it comes to the NFL, Kevin’s favorite team is the Green Bay Packers. He enjoys cheering them on with his wife and daughter.

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