A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 18.2-340.16 and 18.2-340.28:2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to charitable gaming; Texas Hold'em poker tournaments.
HB396 amends Virginia’s charitable gaming law to specifically address Texas Hold’em poker tournaments. The bill updates the statutory definitions in § 18.2-340.16 to include Texas Hold’em poker tournaments as an authorized form of “charitable gaming” and to add related terms such as poker cards and poker chips to the list of charitable gaming supplies. It also revises § 18.2-340.28:2, which governs the conduct of these tournaments, to align the law with the authorized charitable gaming framework.
In practical terms, the bill clarifies that qualified charitable organizations may conduct Texas Hold’em poker tournaments under the state’s charitable gaming permit system, subject to the rules and oversight of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. By placing poker tournaments within the existing charitable gaming article, the bill ties them to the same regulatory structure that governs raffles, bingo, instant bingo, pull tabs, seal cards, and other permitted games of chance. The legislation is aimed at making the legal status and regulatory treatment of these tournaments more explicit in the Code of Virginia.
The bill amends Title 18.2’s charitable gaming provisions, expanding and clarifying the statutory definitions that determine what activities and equipment are covered by Virginia’s charitable gaming laws. It affects qualified organizations that hold charitable gaming permits, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services as the regulator, and vendors or suppliers of poker-related gaming materials. The changes likely reduce ambiguity around whether Texas Hold’em tournaments are permissible when conducted for charitable purposes and under permit conditions.
The available record shows no committee transcript or recorded vote history, so there is no direct evidence of debate, opposition, or support from the legislative process in the materials provided. The bill was enacted as Chapter 601, which indicates it ultimately received approval. Based on the text alone, the measure appears to be a technical and permissive update to charitable gaming law rather than a broad policy shift, suggesting a generally favorable or at least noncontroversial reception.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. If there was debate, it would most likely have centered on whether poker tournaments should be treated as charitable gaming, how closely they should be regulated, and whether expanding the list of authorized games could raise concerns about gambling expansion or enforcement. However, the record supplied here does not identify any legislators, organizations, or stakeholders taking opposing positions.