The former US Congressman, US Attorney and Counsel to Pace-O-Matic, Tom Marino, has recently exposed several sites of illegal, unregulated mini-casinos across the Commonwealth, Virginia.

Marino benefited from the help of retired law enforcement personnel who performed investigations into the sites.

“Everyone loses when it comes to illegal gaming establishments in Virginia,” explained Marino. “The residents of Virginia lose out in excess of $130m in tax revenue. Business owners lose out on legitimate skill games from reputable companies, and consumers lose their money playing unregulated machines fixed against them.”

The former Congressman held press conferences at illegal establishments in Richmond, Portsmouth and Roanoke.

Since Governor Ralph Northam enabled skill games in the Commonwealth, in 2020, they have generated $132m in state tax revenue, contributing to education, school funding, Covid relief and support for small businesses. The law mentioned a sunset provision that went into effect on 1 July 2021, since then, the state lost millions in tax revenue.

Illegal gaming platforms have been appearing instead. The unregulated platforms not only generate zero tax revenue, but there is no guarantee they are not 'fixed' against the players.

Marino also said he is hopeful the state lawmakers will allow regulated skill games to return. He added: “If it’s going to create jobs and it’s going to create revenue, not only for the store owner but for the state, this is a no-brainer.”

Pace-O-Matic, where Marino serves a counselling role, develops, produces and licenses legally compliant games in every state it operates. Since it was founded in 2020, the organisation has built a team and a culture “defined by integrity, innovation and compliance."