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Virginia Lottery Board
 
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9/2/20  3:43 pm
Commenter: Penn National Gaming, Inc., and Penn Interactive

PIV Comments/Suggested Edits - 11 VAC 5-80-90, 100
 

11 VAC 5-80-90 Sports betting platform features

A sports betting platform must possess the following features:

  1. A prominent link to information about the permit holder’s self-exclusion program
  2. Ample opportunities for a player to take note of the passage of time
  3. Game designs Responsible Gaming Limits that promote breaks in play and avoidance of excessive play

[1]

  1. Practices and procedures on the site do not reinforce myths and misconceptions about gambling
  2. Information about the website’s terms and conditions is readily accessible
  3. Promotional or free games do not mislead players
  4. Notification to players of age-verification procedures
  5. Access to credit is prohibited

    Cash transfers and automatic deposits are prohibited or restricted

  6. Games display credits/spending as cash[2]

 

[1] We respectfully recommend removing this section as it may be a carryover from Lottery Rules.  Further we recommend clarifying that promoting breaks in play can be solved with responsible gaming “reality checks” that promote breaks in wagering/play.

 

[2] We respectfully recommend removing subsections 10 & 11. Subsection 10 disallows the use of PayNearMe, which is a commonly utilized vendor in the online sports wagering space accounting for approximately 5% of deposits via cash deposits at CVS, 7-11, and Family Dollar stores. Allowing this service encourages patronization of these aforementioned stores inside the Commonwealth to utilize this service, and increase chances of them spending money in the store, thus an increase in sales tax. Subsection 11 is not applicable to sports wagering.

 

11 VAC 5-80-100 Security of funds and data

 

  1. A permit holder shall comply with all applicable state and federal requirements for data security.
  2. A permit holder shall not share information that could be used to personally identify a sports bettor with any third party other than the Department, law enforcement with a warrant or subpoena or a credit-reporting agency. Information that could be used to personally identify a sports bettor includes gaming habits.[3]

 

[3] Sports Wagering Permit Holders utilize many marketing-technology vendors in their platform to ensure a seamless, secure, and innovative consumer experience.  We want to ensure this provision does not restrict our use of engineering and marketing-technology vendors.

 

 

D. A permit holder shall maintain a reserve in the form of cash, cash equivalents, an irrevocable letter of credit, a bond, or a combination thereof in an amount approved by the Department and sufficient to pay all prizes and awards offered to a winning sports bettor.[1]

E. A permit holder shall implement and prominently publish the following on its platform, or within the Terms and Conditions inside of the platform:[2]

  1. Policies that prevent unauthorized withdrawals from a sports bettor’s account by a permit holder or others;

 

  1. Notices that make clear that the funds in the segregated account do not belong to the permit holder and are not available to creditors other than the sports bettor whose funds are being held;

 

  1. Policies that prevent commingling of funds in the segregated account with other funds, including funds of the permit holder;

 

  1. Consistent with the provisions of Article 2, Chapter 40 (§ 58.1-4043) of Title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia, procedures for responding to and reporting on complaints by sports bettors that their accounts have been misallocated, compromised, or otherwise mishandled;

 

  1. Procedures that allow a sports bettor to request withdrawal of funds from his user account, whether such account is open or closed, including:

 

The permit holder shall honor any sports bettor's request to withdraw funds by the later of days[3] after receipt of the request or 10 days after submission of any tax reporting paperwork required by law, unless the permit holder believes in good faith that the sports bettor has engaged in either fraudulent conduct or other conduct that would put the permit holder in violation of this chapter, in which case the permit holder may decline to honor the request for withdrawal for a reasonable investigatory period until its investigation is resolved if it provides notice of the nature of the investigation to the sports bettor. For the purposes of this subdivision, a request for withdrawal shall be considered honored if it is processed by the permit holder but delayed by a payment processor, a credit card issuer, or the custodian of a segregated account; and

 

  1. Procedures that allow a sports bettor to permanently close a user account at any time and for any reason. The procedures shall allow for cancellation by any means, including by a sports bettor on any platform used by that sports bettor to make deposits into a segregated account.

 

[1] We respectfully recommend reserve requirement be “only tickets or bets that are settled, plus the amount of outstanding and unsettled bets”.  Prizes and awards are specific to lottery, not sports wagering.

[2] We respectfully recommend covering these items in Terms and Conditions.

[3] It appears the number of days was omitted from drafting of rules.

CommentID: 84397