diff --git a/src/emu/validity.cpp b/src/emu/validity.cpp
index cab87352a5e..79c10cad412 100644
--- a/src/emu/validity.cpp
+++ b/src/emu/validity.cpp
@@ -298,7 +298,8 @@ void validity_checker::validate_one(const game_driver &driver)
 	// wrap in try/except to catch fatalerrors
 	try
 	{
-		machine_config config(driver, m_drivlist.options());
+		emu_options options;
+		machine_config config(driver, options);
 		m_current_config = &config;
 		validate_driver();
 		validate_roms();