Virginia Administrative Code › Title 11 - GAMING › Agency 5 - VIRGINIA LOTTERY BOARD › Chapter 70 - SPORTS BETTING › Section 11VAC5-70-10 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall
				  have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates
				  otherwise:
"ACH" means Automated Clearing House, which is a network that
				  connects all banking and financial institutions within the United
				  States.
"Adjusted gross revenue" means gross revenue minus:
1. All cash or the cash value of merchandise paid out as
				  winnings to players, and the value of all bonuses or promotions provided to
				  players as an incentive to place or as a result of their having placed
				  wagers,
2. Uncollectible gaming receivables, which shall not exceed
				  2.0% or a different percentage as otherwise determined by the board pursuant to
				  subsection F of §
									58.1-4007 of
				  the Code of Virginia, of gross revenue minus all cash paid out as winnings to
				  players;
3. If the permit holder is a significant infrastructure
				  limited licensee, as defined in §
									59.1-365 of the Code
				  of Virginia, any funds paid into the horsemen's purse account pursuant to the
				  provisions of subdivision 14 of §
									59.1-369
				  of the Code of Virginia; and
4. All excise taxes on sports betting paid pursuant to
				  federal law.
"Administrative Process Act" means Chapter 40 (§
									2.2-4000 et
				  seq.) of Title 2.2 of the Code of Virginia.
"Affiliate" means a person that directly or indirectly
				  through one or more intermediaries owns, controls, is controlled by, or is
				  under common ownership or control with the other person.
"Affiliated marketer" means a person that is involved in
				  promoting, marketing, and directing business to online gaming sites and has an
				  agreement with a permit holder to be compensated based on the number of
				  registrations, the number of depositing registrations, or a percentage of
				  adjusted gross receipts.
"AML" means anti-money laundering.
"Annual permit application period" means the period
				  occurring annually when the department will accept sports betting permit
				  applications.
"Applicant" means a person who applies for a sports betting
				  permit, license, or registration.
"Application" means the forms, information, and documents
				  submitted electronically to the Virginia Lottery to seek a permit, license, or
				  registration.
"Board" means the Virginia Lottery Board established by the
				  Virginia Lottery Law.
"Canceled wager" means a wager that has been canceled due to
				  an event or circumstance that prevents the wager's completion.
"Cheating" means behavior that includes improving the
				  chances of winning or of altering the outcome of a wager, sports betting
				  platform, or sporting event by (i) deception, interference, or manipulation;
				  (ii) use of inside or nonpublic information; or (iii) through use of any
				  equipment, including software pertaining to or used in relation to the
				  equipment used for or in connection with a wager, sports betting platform, or
				  the sporting event on which wagers are placed or are invited. "Cheating"
				  includes attempts and conspiracy to cheat and colluding with other
				  bettors.
"College sports" means an athletic event (i) in which at
				  least one participant is a team from a public or private institution of higher
				  education, regardless of where such institution is located and (ii) that does
				  not include a team from a Virginia public or private institution of higher
				  education.
"Covered persons" means athletes; umpires, referees, and
				  officials; personnel associated with clubs, teams, leagues, and athletic
				  associations; medical professionals and athletic trainers who provide services
				  to athletes; and the immediate family members and associates of such
				  persons.
"Date of final action on a denial" means:
1. If, after the director sends written notice of permit,
				  license, or registration denial or recommendation of denial, an applicant fails
				  to timely request a reconsideration meeting, the date of the director's written
				  notice;
2. If, after a reconsideration meeting, an applicant fails to
				  timely request a board hearing, the date of the director's written notice after
				  the reconsideration meeting; or
3. If the board holds a hearing on an appeal of the
				  director's permit, license, or registration denial or reconsideration of such a
				  denial, the date of the board's written decision.
"Date of final action on a sanction" means:
1. If, after the director sends a deficiency notice under the
				  Virginia Lottery's regulations, a permit holder, licensee, or registrant fails
				  to submit a timely, acceptable corrective action plan, the date the board
				  adopts as final the director's deficiency notice; or
2. If the board holds a hearing on the director's
				  recommendation to impose a sanction, the date of the board's written
				  decision.
"Department" or "Virginia Lottery" means the Virginia
				  Lottery Department, the independent department that pursuant to §
									58.1-4031
				  of the Code of Virginia is responsible for the operation of the Commonwealth's
				  sports betting program set forth in Articles 1 (§
									58.1-4000 et seq.)
				  and 2 (§
									58.1-4030 et seq.) of
				  Chapter 40 of Title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia.
"Director" means the Executive Director of the Virginia
				  Lottery or the director's designee.
"Global risk management" means management, consultation,
				  instruction, or transmission of information relating to sports betting by a
				  permit holder or sports betting platform supplier that also holds a license to
				  conduct sports betting in another permissible jurisdiction. The term includes
				  the management of risks associated with sports betting involving a sporting
				  event for which a wager may be accepted; the setting or changing of bets or
				  wagers; cutoff times for bets or wagers; acceptance or rejection of bets or
				  wagers; pooling or laying off of bets or wagers, lines, point spreads, odds, or
				  other activity relating to betting or wagering.
"Gross revenue" means the total of all cash, property, or any
				  other form of remuneration, whether collected or not, received by a permit
				  holder from its sports betting operations.
"Individual" means a human being and not a corporation,
				  company, partnership, association, trust, or other entity.
"Initial permit application period" means the period during
				  which initial sports betting permit applications may be submitted to the
				  department. The initial application period begins October 15, 2020, and ends
				  October 31, 2020, at 11:59:59 p.m.
"Integrity monitoring system" means a system of policies and
				  procedures approved by the board through which a permit holder receives and
				  sends reports from other permit holders to assist in identifying unusual or
				  suspicious wagering activity.
"Internal control standards" mean the internal procedures,
				  administration, and accounting controls designed by the permit holder to
				  conduct sports betting operations.
"License" means the authority granted by the director to a
				  person to perform the functions and responsibilities of a principal, sports
				  betting supplier, or sports betting employee.
"Licensee" means a person that holds a license, including a
				  temporary license.
"Minor" means an individual who is younger than 21 years of
				  age.
"Mobile application" means any interactive platform for use
				  through the internet, a mobile device, or a computer that has been approved by
				  the Virginia Lottery Board for operation of sports betting by a permit
				  holder.
"Multi-source authentication" means a strong procedure that
				  requires more than one method to verify a player's identity through a
				  combination of two or more independent credentials, such as information known
				  only to the player, for example, a password, pattern, or answers to challenge
				  questions, and a player's personal biometric data, such as fingerprints, facial
				  recognition, or voice recognition, to the extent the verification method does
				  not violate any privacy laws.
"Permissible jurisdiction" means any jurisdiction in which
				  global risk management or the betting or wagering on a sporting event is lawful
				  or not otherwise expressly prohibited under the laws of that
				  jurisdiction.
"Permit" or "sports betting permit" means written
				  authorization given by the director following an application and investigation
				  process that allows a person to legally operate a sports betting platform in
				  the Commonwealth of Virginia.
"Permit holder" means a person that has been issued a permit
				  by the director to operate a sports betting platform.
"Person" means any individual, corporation, partnership,
				  association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture,
				  government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and
				  any successor, representative, agent, agency or instrumentality thereof.
"Personal biometric data" means any information about an
				  individual that is derived from that individual's DNA, heart rate, blood
				  pressure, perspiration rate, internal or external body temperature, hormone
				  levels, glucose levels, hydration levels, vitamin levels, bone density, muscle
				  density, or sleep patterns, or other information as may be prescribed by the
				  board by regulation.
"Player" or "sports bettor" means an individual physically
				  located in the Commonwealth of Virginia who participates in sports
				  betting.
"Principal" means an individual who, solely or together with
				  the individual's immediate family members, (i) owns or controls, directly or
				  indirectly, 5.0% or more of the pecuniary interest in any entity that is a
				  permit holder or (ii) has the power to vote or cause the vote of 5.0% or more
				  of the voting securities or other ownership interests of such entity.
				  "Principal" includes an individual who is employed in a managerial capacity for
				  a sports betting platform on behalf of a permit holder, and, for purposes of
				  this definition, "employed in a managerial capacity" means the chief executive
				  officer of the permit holder; if applicable, its sports betting platform
				  supplier; and any individual who has ultimate responsibility for the operation
				  of the sports betting platform in Virginia.
"Professional sports" means an athletic event involving at
				  least two human competitors who receive compensation in excess of their
				  expenses for participating in such event.
"Professional sports" does not include charitable gaming, as
				  defined in §
									18.2-340.16 of the
				  Code of Virginia; fantasy contests, as defined in §
									59.1-556 of the Code
				  of Virginia; or horse racing, as defined in §
									59.1-365 of the Code
				  of Virginia.
"Prohibited conduct" means any statement, action, or other
				  communication intended to influence, manipulate, or control a betting outcome
				  of a sports event or of any individual occurrence or performance in a sports
				  event in exchange for financial gain or to avoid financial or physical
				  harm.
"Prohibited conduct" includes statements, actions, and
				  communications made to a covered person by a third party. "Prohibited conduct"
				  includes cheating. "Prohibited conduct" does not include statements, actions,
				  or communications made or sanctioned by a sports team or sports governing
				  body.
"Prohibited individual" means any individual (i) who is
				  prohibited from wagering pursuant to the sports betting law; (ii) whose name is
				  on any self-exclusion list or the Virginia Lottery Exclusion List; (iii) whose
				  participation may undermine the integrity of the wagering or the sporting
				  event; (iv) who is excluded from wagering for any other good cause; or (v) who
				  makes or attempts to make a wager as an agent or proxy on behalf of another for
				  compensation (i.e., messenger betting).
"Prohibited wager" means an attempted wager on any sporting
				  event or occurrence that is not explicitly permitted (i) under the sports
				  betting law or (ii) by board action, whether by regulation or according to any
				  list of permissible wagers published and updated by the department from time to
				  time. "Prohibited wager" includes wagers on youth sports, proposition bets on
				  college sports, and bets on Virginia college sports. For youth sports and
				  Virginia college sports, "prohibited wagers" are limited to the single game or
				  match in which a youth sports or Virginia college sports team is a participant
				  and shall not be construed to prohibit wagering on other games in a tournament
				  or multi-game events in which a youth sport or Virginia college sports team
				  participates, so long as such other games do not have a participant that is a
				  youth sports or Virginia college sports team.
"Proposition wager" or "proposition bet" means a wager on a
				  single specific action, statistic, occurrence, or nonoccurrence to be
				  determined during a sporting event and includes any such action, statistic,
				  occurrence, or nonoccurrence that does not directly affect the final outcome of
				  the sporting event to which it relates.
"Registrant" means a person that has received a registration
				  approval from the director.
"Registration" means the authority granted by the director
				  to a person to perform the functions and responsibilities of a sports betting
				  vendor.
"Sports betting" means placing wagers on professional
				  sports, college sports, sporting events, and any portion thereof and includes
				  placing wagers related to the individual performance statistics of athletes in
				  such sports and events.
"Sports betting" includes any system or method of wagering
				  approved by the director, including single-game bets, teaser bets, parlays,
				  over-under, moneyline, pools, exchange wagering, in-game wagering, in-play
				  bets, proposition bets, and straight bets. "Sports betting" does not include
				  (i) participating in charitable gaming authorized by Article 1.1:1 (§
									18.2-340.15
				  et seq.) of Chapter 8 of Title 18.2 of the Code of Virginia; (ii) participating
				  in any lottery game authorized under Article 1 (§
									58.1-4000 et seq.) of
				  Chapter 40 of Title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia; (iii) wagering on horse
				  racing authorized by Chapter 29 (§
									59.1-364
				  et seq.) of Title 59.1 of the Code of Virginia; (iv) participating in fantasy
				  contests authorized by Chapter 51 (§
									59.1-556 et seq.) of
				  Title 59.1 of the Code of Virginia; (v) placing a wager on a college sports
				  event in which a Virginia public or private institution of higher education is
				  a participant; or (vi) placing a wager on sports events organized by the
				  International Olympic Committee.
"Sports betting account" or "player account" means an account
				  established by a permit holder for an individual to use for sports betting with
				  a specific identifiable record of deposits, wagers, and withdrawals established
				  by a sports bettor and managed by the permit holder.
"Sports betting employee" means an individual who does not
				  meet the definition of a principal and works within the borders of the
				  Commonwealth of Virginia for a permit holder, sports betting supplier, or
				  vendor on nonmanagement support services, such as software or hardware
				  maintenance or the provision of products, services, information, or assets,
				  directly or indirectly, to the permit holder.
"Sports betting law" means Article 2 (§
									58.1-4030 et seq.) of
				  Chapter 40 of Title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia.
"Sports betting operation" means the legal provision of
				  sports betting to individuals though a sports betting platform in the
				  Commonwealth of Virginia.
"Sports betting platform" means a website, application, or
				  other platform accessible via the internet or mobile, wireless, or similar
				  communications technology that sports bettors may use to participate in sports
				  betting.
"Sports betting supplier" or "supplier" means a person that
				  (i) manages, administers, or controls wagers initiated, received, or made on a
				  sports betting platform; (ii) manages, administers, or controls the games on
				  which wagers are initiated, received, or made on a sports betting platform; or
				  (iii) maintains or operates the software or hardware of a sports betting
				  platform, including geolocation services, customer integration, and customer
				  account management.
"Sports event" or "sporting event" means professional sports,
				  college sports, and any athletic event, motor race event, electronic sports
				  event, or competitive video game event.
"Sports governing body" means an organization headquartered
				  in the United States that prescribes rules and enforces codes of conduct with
				  respect to a professional sports or college sports event and the participants
				  therein. "Sports governing body" includes a designee of the sports governing
				  body.
"Submit" means to deliver a document or electronic
				  information (i) in a manner that ensures its receipt by the party to whom it is
				  addressed and (ii) that is considered complete only upon actual receipt by that
				  party.
"Suspicious wagering activity" means unusual wagering
				  activity that cannot be explained; that is in violation of the sports betting
				  law or this chapter; that is made or attempted to be made by an agent or proxy
				  for compensation (i.e., messenger betting); or that is or may be indicative of
				  match-fixing, the manipulation of an event, misuse of inside information,
				  sports corruption, or other prohibited activity.
"Unusual wagering activity" means abnormal wagering activity
				  exhibited by players and deemed by a permit holder as a potential indicator of
				  suspicious wagering activity. Unusual wagering activity may include the size of
				  a player's wager or increased wagering volume on a particular event or wager
				  type.
"Vendor" or "sports betting vendor" means a person within the
				  Commonwealth that is engaged by, under contract to, or acting on behalf of a
				  permit holder to provide sports betting-related goods or services that directly
				  affect sports betting in Virginia and that does not meet the criteria for
				  licensing as a principal or a supplier, such as an affiliated marketer or an
				  equipment maintenance provider.
"Virginia college sports" means an athletic event in which
				  at least one participant is a team from a Virginia public or private
				  institution of higher education.
"Voided wager" means a wager voided by a permit holder for a
				  specified sporting event.
"Wager" or "bet" means a sum of money or thing of value that
				  is risked by a sports bettor on the unknown outcome of one or more sporting
				  event, including the form of fixed-odds betting, a future bet, live betting, a
				  money line bet, pari-mutuel betting, parlay bet, pools, proposition bets,
				  spread bet, or in any other form or manner as authorized by regulation of the
				  board.
"Wager" or "bet" does not include a sum of money or thing of
				  value risked on an unknown outcome pursuant to the Fantasy Sports Act.
"Written notice" or "notice" means notice provided in paper
				  or electronic form, including electronic mail.
"Youth sports" means an athletic event (i) involving a
				  majority of participants younger than 18 years of age or (ii) in which at least
				  one participant is a team from a public or private elementary, middle, or
				  secondary school, regardless of where such school is located. Regardless of the
				  age of the participants, an athletic event that meets the definition of
				  "college sports" or "professional sports" shall not be considered "youth
				  sports."
Statutory Authority: §§
											58.1-4007,
					 58.1-4015.1,
					 and
					 58.1-4030 through
					 58.1-4047
					 of the Code of Virginia.