With the Virginia General Assembly so close to adjourning for the year, a sports betting bill was passed just in the nick of time. It will now be sent on to Gov. Ralph Northam where he is expected to sign the bill, enacting the measure into law, setting the Washington Redskins up for a move.

It was widely expected that the bill was going to pass. Several state representatives had felt confident heading into the March 6 session that HB 896 would pass, enabling four casinos to be opened in the state, and for sports betting to be legalized in Virginia.

HB 896 passed in the House by a 59-35 vote while the measure passed in the Senate by a 29-10 vote. The new law tasks the Virginia lottery system with regulatory authority and gives them until September 15 to set up rules. “The [Lottery] Director may issue from four to twelve permits at one time and is directed to issue an amount of permits that would maximize tax revenue collected pursuant to the bill.”

However, it took overtime before the bill finally was passed. Extra time was allocated, as lawmakers continued to debate both the House and Senate (SB 384) bills into March 8. Besides allocating the casinos, the bill also allowed for statewide mobile sports betting. This means that mobile sportsbooks like FanDuel and DraftKings would be able to offer sports betting without having a physical location within the state. It also set a tax rate of 15% on all gross revenue from the casinos.