ST. CROIX — After over two decades of inactivity on the territory’s internet gaming laws, the Virgin Islands is now taking significant steps toward implementing a modern, regulated online gaming framework — with sports betting as a key component.
Leaders from the VI Casino Control Commission, international gaming consultants, economic analysts, and senators gathered Thursday during at the Carambola Beach Resort for an internet gaming summit to discuss long-awaited amendments that could usher in a new era for legalized gambling in the territory.
This summit follows a national trend set in motion by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 decision to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, paving the way for states and territories to legalize and regulate sports betting.
Since that historic ruling, 39 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico have embraced some form of legal sports betting, with 32 of those implementing mobile and online betting platforms.
While the law establishing casinos on St. Croix has been on the books since 1995, the amendment that provides for internet gambling in the territory was passed in 2001.
Realizing the outdated nature of the existing legislation, the Commission partnered with Gaming Laboratories International to begin reviewing the legal framework. After initial delays, serious progress began in early 2024. This effort has been years in the making for CCC Chair Marvin Pickering.
“This has been on my radar since I joined the Commission in late 2020,” he said. “It was among my top 10 tasks to accomplish in my first term.”
Pickering emphasized the importance of including sports betting in the updated legislation, citing its economic potential in the billions.
“Sports betting is a big driver,” he said, noting internet gambling, including games like poker and slots, is also a billion-dollar industry.
“The U.S. Virgin Islands, however, has yet to enter this phase and is not realizing the economic benefits associated with these growing markets,” Pickering said during the summit.
The CCC chair said the Commission is committed to changing that.
“We are actively working to develop a modern, responsible and transparent licensing and regulatory framework that will enable our territory to fully participate in the digital economy of the 21st century,” he said.
The Commission’s consultants from Gaming Laboratories International presented an overview during the summit of the territory’s casino and internet gaming statutes that need updating.
“We’re not proposing the changes,” Karen Marcela Sierra-Hughes, GLI vice president — Latin America, Caribbean and Spain, said. “What we’re providing is the information: what had happened in other jurisdictions, what’s the regulatory trends in other places.”
To quantify the potential economic benefit of internet gaming in the territory, the CCC engaged The Innovation Group, a Las Vegas-based consulting firm specializing in gaming and hospitality.
Brian Wyman, the firm’s president and CEO, presented during the summit on the internet gaming market potential in the Virgin Islands in addition to discussing regulatory issues, problem gaming issues, and the impact online gambling might have on land-based casinos.
Discussing how to balance internet gaming with land-based gaming, Wyman noted how other jurisdictions have addressed the concern.
“Typically, in other jurisdictions, these are balanced through the use of higher taxes on online gaming, as opposed to land-based gaming, where there’s job creation and economic development, or infrastructure development,” he said.
This renewed push to amend the territory’s dormant casino legislation to accommodate internet gaming and sports betting stirred careful consideration among senators in attendance during the summit. While most senators expressed cautious optimism, they emphasized the importance of responsible regulation, economic balance, and community protection.
Senate President Milton Potter said he is open to doing what is necessary to get internet gaming off the ground in the territory. He said he envisions that his colleagues will have open minds to develop the necessary amendments.
“I think it represents a new revenue stream for the territory that ultimately can benefit us and improve the quality of life of the people of the Virgin Islands,” he said. “The key though is it has to be done responsibly.”
Senator Carla Joseph also pointed out the benefit of revenue generation while discussing the implementation of internet gaming in the territory.
“We need more diverse money coming into our shores, outside of the tourism industry,” she said. “And so, this is bringing that opportunity here to the Virgin Islands.”
Senator Novelle Francis Jr., who noted he has drafted legislation related to internet gaming and sports betting, stressed the need for amendments to the casino law to address some of the nuances that could be detrimental to the community. He said senators do not want individuals to be submitted to any further financial hardship because of internet gaming.
“Revenues are not always beneficial if it’s impacting our community members,” he said. “We want to proceed cautiously and make sure all of the policy position takes into consideration all of the dynamics involved here.”
Senator Kurt Vialet said senators must look at the impact internet gaming will have on St. Croix’s two brick-and-mortar casinos — Divi Carina Bay Casino and Caravelle Casino.
“Is it going to boost revenues or is it going to decrease foot traffic to those two areas?” he asked. “So, we probably have to do an assessment from other jurisdictions abroad in internet gaming to see whether or not there was a decrease in live participants, or it stayed the same.”
Vialet pointed out the hundreds of jobs provided by the casinos.
“We want to make sure that we protect those jobs,” he said, stressing a need for internet gaming. “We just need to be careful as to how we word the legislation to make sure that all the protections are in place.”
Governor Albert Bryan Jr., who has long advocated for internet gaming and sports betting as a source of new revenue, said Virgin Islanders love sports — and love to bet on everything from cockfighting to boxing.
“So, if we have these industries, just like we had cannabis operating in our community, why isn’t the government getting a piece of the action?” he asked.
Bryan underscored the importance of tying new gaming revenues to community benefits such as mental health services, elder care, prison rehabilitation, and infrastructure upgrades.
“We need to make sure also that we are multiplying, not dividing, the revenue that exists in the Virgin Islands,” he said. “It didn’t make any sense to take the money that we have here and cut it up in 600 different little pieces. Let’s figure out systems that attract new dollars to our shores.”
Lieutenant Governor Tregenza Roach echoed a call for balance.
“I think we have to be conscious that while we maximize the potential of these digital means, that we must also approach it from a place of social responsibility,” he said.
The next step in the process includes public feedback and submitting amendments to the Legislature to update the internet gaming laws, Pickering said.
“And once they’re passed, the infrastructure would be set up through the various entities — master service providers, operators, etc. — and then people could pull out the phones and start to bet,” he said.
