VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Don't be surprised if you walk in to a convenience store in Virginia to buy a lottery ticket and are told they're not being sold there.
It's the latest form of protest by stores against the state's skilled games ban.
"Our voice has to be heard," said Bhavin Patel.
Patel is the owner of the store that is part of the BP gas station on Northampton Boulevard in Virginia Beach.
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He and other members of the Virginia Merchants and Amusement Coalition and the bigger skilled games coalition are hoping to force the state’s hand by causing the Virginia to lose money from the lack of lottery ticket sales.
“Day in and day out, we do collect a lot of money for the state," Patel said.
According to the Virginia Lottery’s website, the lottery generated more than $867 million for K-12 education in Virginia in fiscal year 2023.
The Virginia Lottery declined News 3's request for an interview Friday, but sent a statement:
Virginia businesses that sell Lottery tickets, meaning they partner with the Lottery to help raise funds for K-12 public education, have a contract with the Lottery in which they agree to sell Lottery games and redeem winning tickets. The Lottery works with each individual retailer as to what works best for them, and we make it a practice not to tell retailers how to run their business.
“I don’t feel guilty about not doing it," said Patel. "We have to stand for something."
“I think they’re doing the right thing," said Eugene Hyman.
Hyman stopped by the store to try to buy a lottery ticket Friday.
“Skilled games should be playing," Hyman said. "I don’t see any difference. Virginia Lottery is taking money from us, so we might as well let them play."
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One argument that has been made against the machines is what they promote.
“These convenience store slot machines do not promote the kind of values I want in the children in my community," Richmond-area teacher Lorin Johnson told WTKR sister station WTVR in February
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is not expected to sign a bill that would allow stores to continue to operate skilled games.
“The bill that came to me, and has come back to me, is a bill that I have some fundamental problems with," Youngkin told News 3 on April 23.
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He added amendments to the bill, but they were rejected by the General Assembly. That means he either has to veto the bill or sign it as is.
As News 3 has reported, the use of skilled games has had to stop because of a Virginia Supreme Court ruling.
“I’m willing to work on, particularly, modifying the perimeter policies," Youngkin said. "I think there were just some unintended consequences of what was some basic agreement around some protected areas."
Stores not selling lottery tickets plan to continue their protest until they get what they call a “path forward” for skilled games.
As of Friday, the governor was expected to make a decision on the bill within a week.
