Judge Rules Certain Skill Game Machines Legal in Hanover County

HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Are certain skill game machines actually legal in Virginia? At least one Hanover County judge thinks so.

The judge dismissed a case involving a Hanover County business owner who was accused of having an unlawful gambling device.

"The judge basically ruled that I won't convict someone of a crime if they were unaware it was illegal," stated 8News Legal Analyst Russ Stone.

State Senator Bill Stanley, who represented the business owner in this case and also represents the company that makes the skill game machine in question, said the judge believed charges weren’t warranted because Virginia law only bans skill games that require “the insertion of a coin, currently, ticket, token, or similar object” to play.

Here, players needed to hand over cash to an attendant, who would subsequently input a code to start the game.

When crafting criminal statutes, our aim should be for individuals who might fall under these rules to clearly grasp what actions are permissible and which ones aren’t," Stanley explained to 8News. "In this instance, the judge pointed out that the current wording fails to offer such clarity. Therefore, the ambiguity must benefit the defense.

Even with this decision, Stone stated that skill games have not become automatically lawful throughout Virginia. He further explained that the ruling applies exclusively to Hanover County, and tribunals in different regions might reach varying conclusions.

"If you're operating in a different county and participating in such behavior, you might indeed encounter the prospect of facing criminal charges," Stone stated.

Stone mentioned that if the General Assembly wishes to prevent potential legal challenges in different regions, they could enact legislation amending the current statute to explicitly prohibit this new category of skill games as well.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This content must not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or distributed.

To get the most recent updates on news, weather, sports, and live videos, visit WFXRtv.