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Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger vetoed legislation Thursday that would have opened Fairfax County to casino development, halting a yearslong push to bring a gaming and entertainment complex to Tysons.
Spanberger rejected Senate Bill 756 ahead of an April 13 deadline to act on legislation passed during the General Assembly’s 2026 session. She said the measure would undermine local control because the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors opposed the proposal.
“Local governing boards should lead on proposed casino development, as has happened in every locality that now has a casino,” Spanberger said. She noted that an overwhelming majority of Fairfax County’s General Assembly members also voted against the bill.
Spanberger additionally called for Virginia to establish an independent statewide commission overseeing all legal gambling before pursuing further expansion.
Bill would have forced a referendum process
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, a Democrat representing southeastern Fairfax County, introduced the legislation for the second consecutive year.
SB 756 would have added Fairfax County to the list of Virginia localities eligible to host a casino. Under existing state law, that designation would have required the Board of Supervisors to begin the process of holding a voter referendum, despite the board’s opposition.
The measure changed several times during the legislative session. One version would have permitted a temporary casino without local approval, but the final legislation returned to Surovell’s original framework.
Potential casino sites were limited to the Tysons area outside the Capital Beltway and within a mixed-use development containing at least 1.5 million square feet.
Comstock Companies, the developer of Reston Station, had promoted plans for a casino-centered entertainment complex near the Spring Hill Metro station. The bill did not identify a particular developer or exact site.
Virginia currently has five localities eligible for casinos. Spanberger said each community where a casino now operates—and the one where referendums failed—had actively sought permission to hold a vote. Fairfax County had not.
The Board of Supervisors narrowly voted in December to oppose casino-enabling legislation unless the county requested it.
SB 756 nevertheless passed the Senate 25-13 and the House of Delegates 55-41 on March 14, the final day of the regular session.
Four Fairfax County senators—Surovell, Dave Marsden, Jennifer Carroll Foy and Stella Pekarsky—supported it. Only three of the county’s 15 delegates voted yes: Laura Jane Cohen, Garrett McGuire and Rozia Henson Jr.
Local opponents celebrate
Casino supporters, including several labor unions, and opponents intensified their lobbying after lawmakers adjourned.
The No Fairfax Casino Coalition, whose membership included dozens of homeowners associations, praised the veto. The organization said claims that a casino would solve Tysons’ office-vacancy or economic challenges lacked independent analysis and that the proposal had advanced without sufficient review.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay thanked Spanberger and said he had personally discussed concerns raised by county officials and residents with the governor.
“This veto demonstrates the Governor’s respect for local authority and being responsive to those we represent,” McKay said, adding that residents had made their opposition clear.
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, a longtime opponent whose district includes Reston, Vienna and part of western Tysons, said county residents “never wanted it and we never asked for it.”
Alcorn argued that placing casino authority in state law could have discouraged other economic development in Tysons, which he described as the nation’s 12th-largest business district.
Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman credited residents and the Fairfax delegation members who opposed the measure. He said the veto would allow officials to refocus on costs, housing, education, public safety and economic opportunity.
Opponents had also questioned whether a casino fit Fairfax County’s long-term plans for Tysons and disputed projections that it would generate enough revenue to offset declines in the commercial tax base.
The House considered splitting gaming tax revenue evenly between the state and Fairfax County, but that language was removed. County officials said current Virginia law directs approximately 70% of gaming tax proceeds to the state and 30% to the host locality.
Surovell vows to return
Surovell expressed disappointment, arguing that the development envisioned by Comstock could have produced as much as $1.5 billion in annual economic activity for the state and county.
He maintained that voters, rather than state or county officials, would have made the final decision.
“It was a permission slip, not a mandate,” Surovell said. “Fairfax voters would have had the final say. Instead, that choice has been taken away from them by the stroke of a pen.”
Overriding a Virginia governor’s veto requires support from two-thirds of each General Assembly chamber. The margins by which SB 756 passed suggest an override lacks enough votes in both the Senate and House.
Surovell indicated that he plans to revive the effort after working on the legislation for four years.
“I will not stop,” he said. “Northern Virginia workers and families deserve the economic opportunity that every other region of this Commonwealth already has access to. We will be back.”
Future proposals may need to preserve more county discretion or await the creation of the statewide gambling regulator sought by Spanberger.
Lawmakers considered two measures to establish a Virginia Gaming Commission during the session. The House bill was continued to 2027, while the Senate proposal was folded into separate legislation that would have given authority to the Virginia Lottery. That measure failed to emerge from conference before the session ended.
In her veto statement, Spanberger said SB 756 would have imposed a mandatory referendum process and established a precedent that could later be used against other localities whose governing bodies oppose casinos.
“Senate Bill 756 would effectively change this standard and eliminate local control,” she wrote.