Virginia has always been known as a very traditional state in terms of its way of thinking. Now, it looks like even sports betting will make it second guess things and become part of the new wave in America.
Earlier this week, a Democratic-led Senate and House voted in favor of going ahead with the process to make sports betting legalized in the state of Virginia.
This is also an interesting turn of events for Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder. A couple of weeks ago, he threatened to move the team to Virginia if the state of Maryland wasn’t going to move forward with plans on legalizing sports betting.
Snyder was quite adamant about having legalized sports betting at the new stadium he plans on building for the Redskins and knew that Virginia was already leaning in this direction.
The lease at FedEx Field expires in 2027. So, as the bustling businessman that Snyder is, he’s already looking to make a move that reaps benefits at the back-end of this decade. The Redskins already have training facilities in Ashburn and Richmond.
Not to mention, a good chunk of their fanbase already lives in Virginia as well.
Both of the sports betting bills have a direction trending toward using in-play betting and using official league data. The NFL would certainly profit from this, as well as other pro sports leagues looking to make a profit here in Virginia.
While the focus may, or may not, be on Virginia, Snyder has also been in discussions with Maryland lawmakers about keeping the Redskins there and getting sports betting legalized within its borders. Sports betting is still not legal in Maryland, but there have been plenty of discussions to make it happen soon.
Stuck In The Middle
The District of Columbia, which sits right in the middle of Maryland and Virginia, has plans to get sports betting legalized soon. In fact, it was already supposed to be.
However, due to some legal issues and certain parties feeling like they didn’t get a fair shake on matters, they’re still in a state of limbo. No official date has yet been announced on when the green light will be given in DC.
Speaking of DC, Snyder has expressed interest in moving the team there. While that would be a slam-dunk idea, moving the team back to its initial stomping grounds, there are plenty of issues that stand in the way. The most debilitating of which is trying to buy land from the federal government – good luck with that.
The Washington Post has reported that Snyder will soon have another meeting with Maryland lawmakers. He has alternate plans of building a new stadium on the site where FedEx Field is but would like to add hotels and restaurants to make it an area of entertainment and amusement.
It’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out. But if the Redskins decide to bolt for Virginia, that will give them a stamp on every letter of the DMV acronym that’s synonymous with the area. Virginia doesn’t have a professional sports franchise, so we’re all pulling for them in this instance.
