Guest Column | Stop Skill Games Before The Addiction Crisis Begins

The Richmond Times-Dispatch

By: Keith Whyte, Former Executive Director for the National Council on Problem Gambling
March 26, 2026

As someone who has spent more than 30 years studying problem gambling at the national level, I have watched so-called skill games transform from a fringe gaming product into a widespread public health problem. Now, after repeated attempts to allow these dangerous devices, legislation to legalize the machines is back in Virginia this session — a decision that would undermine decades of responsible policy and jeopardize the health of Virginians.

This debate is not about “skill” versus “chance.” It’s about whether Virginia will allow highly powerful — and hugely profitable —gambling devices to proliferate in uncontrolled environments without adequate protections. The Virginia Council on Problem Gambling (VCPG) has begun documenting the warning signs. In a letter to Governor Spanberger, VCPG urged her administration to carefully consider the significant risks posed by legalization. The lack of controls in a non-casino environment raises serious concerns.

When Virginia legalized casinos and sports betting, the commonwealth took a thoughtful harm-reduction approach. The state dedicated 2.5% of gambling tax revenue to the Problem Gambling Treatment Fund to support gambling addiction prevention and treatment programs. The legislature mandated operators implement comprehensive, regulator-approved responsible gambling plans. These include employee training, player protection tools, consumer education and promotion of problem gambling resources. Virginia established self-exclusion programs so individuals in recovery can voluntarily exclude themselves from gambling venues, and operators are legally bound to enforce those exclusions.

Skill games have none of these protections. These machines sit in corner stores, staffed by busy retail workers with no training on problem gambling or self-exclusion programs. The devices are often tucked out of sight with no meaningful age verification. Research consistently shows that early exposure to gambling is a significant risk factor for developing gambling problems later in life. Yet the current skill game proposal would place these devices in the exact locations where children gather daily: convenience stores, gas stations and restaurants.

Gambling disorder is an addiction that activates the same reward pathways in the brain as drugs and alcohol. The speed and frequency of play accelerate addiction development. Multiply these concerns by the 90,000 of these machines already in our state. These are staggering numbers, and the unregulated nature of skill games — found in corner stores, gas stations, convenience stores and restaurants with virtually no age verification, consumer protections, or monitoring for fair play — is driving this crisis.

After more than three decades working on problem gambling issues across the nation, I recognize the warning signs in Virginia, and I see lawmakers ignoring them. In the chaos of this year’s legislative session, the House of Delegates and Virginia Senate passed legislation that would legalize these machines despite 67% of Virginian voters having made their opposition clear: They don’t want these machines.

To Governor Spanberger and the General Assembly: Virginia should not allow addictive gambling devices to proliferate in corner stores. The warning signs are clear. To prevent gambling addiction and harm, skill games should remain illegal in Virginia.

Keith Whyte is founder and president of Safer Gambling Strategies. He previously spent nearly 30 years as the Executive Director for the National Council on Problem Gambling. Whyte can be reached at [email protected].