Billy the Kidden Will Take Lawsuit Against VDACS to Supreme Court

The non-profit Animal Rescue's lawsuit was filed following a slew of Big Casino-backed anti-charity Virginia legislation

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va, July 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Billy the Kidden, a Virginia Beach-based non-profit Animal Rescue, vowed to take its lawsuit (CL22–2587) against the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) to the Supreme Court, following yesterday's hearing in which the Circuit Court of the City of Virginia Beach ruled against Billy the Kidden, despite even the Judge referring to the new laws as "strange and contradictory."

Billy the Kidden, which became the largest rescue of its kind on the East Coast thanks to charitable gaming revenue, filed suit against VDACS following a slew of legislation passed in Virginia in 2022 that targeted charities and charitable gaming organizations. Charities and nonprofits such as Billy the Kidden in Virginia receive substantial and critical support from charitable bingo and charitable poker revenue, which, through this convoluted, often contradictory, and targeted legislation, would be effectively shut down.

As has been widely reported in national news outlets, the legislators behind these bills have all received substantial donations from the for-profit Big Casino & Gaming industries, for whom these regulations do not apply and who stand the most to gain from dismantling the charitable gaming industry. 

"I am disappointed with the Court's ruling today, but our fight is not over and we will be taking this to the Supreme Court," Emilie Jackson, President & CFO of Billy the Kidden, said. "Many have been telling me it's a 'David and Goliath' fight, to which I simply say 'let's not forget how that turned out.' It is un-American and unacceptable to punish and target charities simply to increase the bottom line for the Big Casino and Gaming industry."

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SOURCE Billy the Kidden Rescue