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Virginia senators will again consider opening Fairfax County to casino development, but this year’s proposal is heading to the full Senate without restrictions that had effectively confined any potential project to Tysons.
The Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee advanced Senate Bill 756 on a 10-5 vote Tuesday, Feb. 10. The approved substitute removes all mandated location criteria, committee staff director April Kees said.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, a Democrat representing the 34th District, is championing the legislation after a similar measure stalled in the House of Delegates last year.
Northern Virginia Sen. Dave Marsden, who unsuccessfully carried the proposal in 2024, joined Surovell in supporting the amended bill. Sens. Jennifer Boysko, Adam Ebbin and Barbara Favola opposed it.
The measure would add Fairfax County to the Virginia localities authorized to host casino gambling. State law currently includes Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Petersburg. Richmond had also been eligible, but voters there rejected two casino referendums.
Earlier versions of the Fairfax proposal required a casino site to be within a quarter-mile of a Silver Line Metro station, part of a mixed-use development of at least 1.5 million square feet, within two miles of an enclosed regional mall of the same minimum size, and outside the Capital Beltway. Together, those conditions narrowed the viable area largely to Tysons.
The committee approved eliminating that language “in concept” Tuesday, and the substitute bill became public Wednesday.
Surovell said he and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee Chair L. Louise Lucas began advocating for casinos in Virginia after MGM National Harbor opened across the Potomac River in Maryland in December 2016.
He argued that a Fairfax casino could keep gambling revenue in Virginia and provide money for education. Surovell estimated it would generate about $2 billion for school construction statewide over a decade and more than $100 million for Fairfax County.
Fairfax County officials have questioned those projections, contending that Virginia’s tax-revenue formula would direct a disproportionate share of the proceeds to the state rather than the host locality.
In December, the Board of Supervisors voted to oppose any legislation establishing a Fairfax casino that county leaders had not requested. The board also argued that Surovell’s proposal would weaken local control over land-use decisions.
Opposition expands beyond Tysons
Removing the location requirements has not softened resistance from community organizations.
Tysons Stakeholder Alliance President Paula Martino said the amendment does not take Tysons out of consideration and that her group remains opposed to a casino in both Tysons and Fairfax County.
The No Fairfax Casino Coalition also plans to continue lobbying against SB 756. Chair Lynne Mulston said members would travel to Richmond on Thursday, Feb. 12, to speak directly with legislators.
Mulston argued that Fairfax residents and county leaders did not request the proposal, saying its support has come from the lawmakers who introduced it and the developer positioned to benefit.
Reston-based Comstock Companies has proposed an entertainment district near the Spring Hill Metro station that could feature a casino, housing, a convention center, a hotel, a performing arts venue and an IMAX theater.
Reston Association, which represents 65,000 homeowners, also reaffirmed its opposition Wednesday. Its board said removing the site-specific language was disappointing and maintained that a casino anywhere in Fairfax County would conflict with more than six decades of careful planning in Reston.
The earlier Tysons-focused criteria emerged in 2024 after reports that Comstock was considering the area around the Wiehle Metro station, triggering opposition from Reston residents. Although the restrictions in Marsden’s bill appeared to exclude Reston, the association continued campaigning against casino development anywhere in the county.
Boysko, whose district includes Reston, Herndon and McLean, said she appreciated the amendment’s attempt to eliminate Tysons as the required location but still opposed the broader proposal.
She noted that other Virginia localities sought permission from the General Assembly before becoming eligible for casinos, while Fairfax County has made no such request. Boysko said she would continue siding with constituents who oppose the bill unless their position changes.
Even if SB 756 becomes law, it would not immediately authorize construction. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors would first have to schedule a referendum, and county voters would have to approve it.
Virginia would then select an operator through a competitive licensing process. Any development would also remain subject to Fairfax County zoning and permitting reviews.