A recent ruling in Hanover County dismissing a case against a skill games operator has put the anti-gambling effort into a tailspin in Alexandria.
General District Court Judge Hugh Campbell dismissed a case against a convenience store owner in Hanover County and found that new QVS2 (Queen of Virginia) machines by Pace-O-Matic that are unlocked when customers give clerks cash are not illegal gambling devices. The ruling has sent Alexandria’s Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter and his staff back to the drawing board.
“We are aware of the recent decision of the Hanover General District Court regarding the legality of skill games in Virginia,” Porter told ALXnow. “While the decision is not controlling authority throughout Virginia, it is certainly persuasive authority and indicative of a substantial issue with the current working of the code. We are still in the process of analyzing the court’s reasoning and holding, and at this juncture cannot make any definitive statement on the impact this decision might have on enforcement in Alexandria.”
In November, officers with the Alexandria Police Department hand-delivered letters to more than a dozen businesses from City Attorney Cheran Ivery, then-Interim Police Chief Raul Pedroso, and Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter. The previous month, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares issued a memorandum to Virginia prosecutors and chiefs of police, stating that the devices are still illegal.
As previously reported, dozens of skill game machines operate unhindered at multiple convenience and grocery stores since being outlawed as illegal gaming by the Virginia legislature in 2020. They remain illegal after the most recent session of the Virginia General Assembly.
“There was no action on skill games, so they are still illegal,” Sarah Taylor, a city consultant, told City Council earlier this month. “There was no action to either legalize them or put them in a taxation framework.”
So far, only eight machines and the money inside of them have been seized from undisclosed businesses in the city, according to APD. No one has been charged with operating the illegal gambling devices, although business owners face a Class 6 felony punishable by up to a year in prison and/or a $2,500 fine and a $25,000 civil penalty per device. Additionally, playing the games is a Class 3 misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $500 fine.
One business owner with three devices said that Queen of Virginia representatives reassured her that the machines are legal since users aren’t able to put money directly into them.
“They told me they’re legal,” the owner said.
