The Beach Poker Room in Virginia, the facility that has grabbed significant attention to the confusing laws of the state on charitable gaming, has shut down temporarily, as per the announcement made on Facebook last week.
On 4th October, the facility stated that it was closing because of many unfortunate circumstances but they have thrown light on what led them to make the decision.
The post mentioned that they are very grateful for the support that has been shown towards them over the last few years. They are then asking people to stay in contact with them as they make their way towards a solution, continuing their path to develop a safe and fun environment for the 757 poker community.
State-sanctioned poker will still be played in the casinos opening in Virginia, the future of individual charity poker operations isn’t certain. Charitable Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament was legalized by the General Assembly in 2020. However, a state official has been at disparity with the gambling industry over how poker events need to be run or regulated.
Many unlicensed charitable poker rooms have cropped up primarily due to the dispute. However, these operations shut down this summer when the legislators threatened them with a violation fine of $50,000.
The Beach Poker Room appears to be an exception. However, neither the state nor the facility regulators have talked about the legality of how the poker room had been able to operate after the violation fines became effective. The facility chooses not to make any comments.
No threats have been made from local or state law enforcement Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services which handles charitable gaming refused to comment if they took the enforcement action before the Beach Poker Room announced the shutdown.
VDACS is coming up with a new regulatory and license structure for charity poker, but it is unclear if the rules are going to enable full-time poker rooms to operate as they did.
