Alexandria City Councilman Canek Aguirre has asked state lawmakers to oppose a bill that would legalize skill games in Virginia, citing harmful impacts of the games on local business owners.
The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Aaron Rouse (D-22), calls for the regulation and taxation of skill game machines. It would cap the number of machines in Virginia at 35,000, impose an $800 gaming tax per machine and limit wagers from users to $5 per play. It was rereferred last week to the Finance and Appropriations Committee.
In a letter to the State Senate’s General Laws and Technology Subcommittee, Aguirre said skill games hurt local businesses and residents, rather than bring economic opportunity.
The letter references an Arlandria business owner who was fined and faced criminal charges for operating the machines. Aguirre has long advocated against the machines and has said that they prey on immigrant communities.
“This is not a story of economic opportunity. It is a warning,” Aguirre wrote. “Skill games are not the lifeline some small businesses think they are. They are a trap, especially in working-class and immigrant communities, shifting risk onto our neighbors who can least afford it.”
Rouse’s bill is similar to legislation that passed through both houses in 2024 before it was vetoed by former Gov. Glenn Youngkin. It would allow the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to grant provisional registration, starting on July 1, “to any entity that certifies that a skill game machine being distributed, operated, or placed in an establishment meets the definition and requirements of a skill game machine.”
The machines remain illegal since being outlawed by the Virginia legislature during the 2020 session. However, last year, General District Court Judge Hugh Campbell dismissed a case against a convenience store owner in Hanover County, deciding that specific QVS2 (Queen of Virginia) machines by Pace-O-Matic, which are unlocked when customers give clerks cash, are not illegal gambling devices.
In Nov. 2024, more than a dozen Alexandria businesses with skill gaming machines were “put on notice” of the legal consequences in a Nov. 19 letter from City Attorney Cheran Ivery, then-Interim Police Chief Raul Pedroso, and Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter.
At least two Alexandria business owners have been indicted for carrying the machines.
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. Playing the games is a Class 3 misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $500 fine.
Aguirre’s full letter is available, below.
Mr. Chair and members of the Subcommittee, my name is Canek Aguirre, and I serve as a member of the Alexandria City Council. I am writing on behalf of the City of Alexandria to share our opposition to legislation that would legalize so-called “skill games” in Virginia.
I want to share the story of a small business owner in Alexandria.
This longtime business in the Arlandria-Chirilagua neighborhood hires local residents and gives back to the community. Like many small business owners, he was told that skill games were lawful and could help his business survive tough times. A third-party operator placed the machines and assured him everything was above board.
That turned out not to be true.
The business owner did not make money from these machines. In fact, they were losing money. What he did gain was stress, fear, and real harm to his family and livelihood because the kind of machines he had were not legal. He was charged with crimes for owning skill game machines he thought were permissible. He faced criminal charges, fines, forfeiture of the machines, and the loss of cash associated with them. These consequences fell entirely on him and his family, not the operator or the distributor who misled him.
This is not a story of economic opportunity. It is a warning. Skill games are not the lifeline some small businesses think they are. They are a trap, especially in working-class and immigrant communities, shifting risk onto our neighbors who can least afford it. These machines hurt business owners and communities. I doubt this is an isolated occurrence, it is one that can repeat itself across the Commonwealth.
Please heed this warning and oppose this legislation.
