NORFOLK, Va. — Hundreds of convenience stores have halted sales of Virginia Lottery tickets to pressure Gov. Glenn Youngkin and lawmakers to lift the ban on skill games.
According to a news release from the Virginia Merchants and Amusement Coalition (VA MAC), the protest began Thursday at 5 p.m. and will last until a path forward for skill games is reached.
"By stopping Virginia Lottery sales, convenience store owners across the Commonwealth will show the economic impact that the closing of convenience stores will have on the Virginia Lottery and the tax revenue they generate," VA MAC wrote in a news release. "They will also show their continued support for legislative champions who continue to fight for small businesses."
The protest comes as Youngkin and General Assembly lawmakers negotiate a two-year state budget, which includes skill games on the table.
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Earlier this year, the General Assembly pushed a bipartisan bill to the governor's desk to regulate skill games in a return to the state.
But Youngkin returned the bill to the legislature with several amendments, including limits on the number of machines a business can have, having the Virginia Lottery oversee all the games and restricting businesses from operating the games if they are within a certain distance from schools and casinos.
VA MAC, an organization representing a group of businesses, has led the charge in opposing Youngkin's proposed amendments.
On April 15, nearly 500 stores across Virginia stopped selling lottery tickets for the day in protest. The next day, those stores closed for an hour.
Bhavin Patel, who owns Northampton Boulevard BP in Virginia Beach, says his skill games have been off for a while and it's bad for business.
"We had to cut back on our employees and we used to be 24 hours and not anymore," Patel said.
He hopes the strength in numbers, can push Youngkin and legislators to pass laws that bring games back.
"If you stand alone. You know, your voice may not be heard but in a group, we want to be heard loud and clear,” Patel said.
Richard Green owns Champs Sports Bar & Grill in Virginia Beach. He hasn't joined the protest, despite his establishment feeling the loss of skill games. He believes Youngkin's amended legislation unfairly taxes small businesses that want to have skill games.
"The casinos only pay 18% and we make more than all of the casinos in the state of Virginia.”
RELATED: Virginia convenience stores close Tuesday to protest proposed skill game legislation amendments
The Associated Press reports that Youngkin and lawmakers reached an agreement on the state's spending plan. But according to Democratic Del. Luke Torian, the deal doesn't include electronic skill games.
13News Now reached out to Youngkin's office Thursday to inquire about budget negotiations.
"Governor Youngkin is grateful for all the members of the General Assembly, as well as the leadership, and conferees for their ongoing efforts to deliver a budget," Youngkin’s Press Secretary Christian Martinez wrote in a statement. "He looks forward to finishing the work to deliver on our collective priorities for all Virginians next week."