Rivers Portsmouth Fined $275,000 For Violating Virginia Casino Regulations

Rivers Casino Portsmouth was slapped with a hefty fine for violating Virginia’s gambling regulations.

The Rush Street Gaming-owned property is the first Virginia casino to be hit with such a fine. The total damage? $275,000. Rush Street opted for a settlement instead of jumping through the more cost-intensive hoops of a full hearing.

Alleged violations called ‘missteps’

The exact violations were not made public, but the Virginia Lottery has said they relate to a few issues, according to WVEC-TV Norfolk:

• Underage and voluntarily excluded persons
• Slot machine licenses
• Unauthorized games

State Sen. Louise Lucas told 10 On Your Side: “I’m not gonna allow anybody to clobber Rivers Casino over the head because they might have made a few missteps. They’re working on fixing it, and I trust them to do it.”

A spokesperson for Rivers Casino Portsmouth confirmed the fine has already been paid and reassured Virginia gamblers and the Lottery that the company takes such issues seriously.

What happens next?

Rivers Portsmouth has already taken measures to rectify the alleged violations and “developed a corrective action plan.”

With the fine paid and mitigating measures in place, Rivers Portsmouth will continue operations and seek to avoid such infractions in the future.

Rivers Portsmouth still succeeding

February 2023 was Rivers Portsmouth’s first full month of operations. During that time, the casino drew in $24.6 million in gross gaming revenue. In March, Rivers generated slightly less: $23.6 million.

Hard Rock Bristol earned $13.7 million in February, trailing behind its slightly older competitor.

Virginia gambling going strong

Old Dominion has seen great success with gambling as a whole of late. In March, the state exceeded $500 million in sports betting handle, a 17.7% jump up from February.

While most of that handle came from online operators (including BetRivers), $4.59 million came from retail casino betting activity. As the state’s gambling industry expands and new casinos open, those numbers could continue to rise.