VIRGINIA SPORTS BETTORS’ BILL OF RIGHTS, Article I.  The Right to Integrity and Transparency

Article I of the Virginia Sports Bettors’ Bill of Rights requires permit holders to make certain information available to sports bettors.  The first two bulleted requirements mirror the provisions proposed by 11 VAC 5-80-20(C)(1)(a) and (b).  For the same reasons given as support for our suggested changes to 11 VAC 5-80-20(C)(1)(a) and (b), we suggest similar changes to the first two bullets of Article I of the proposed bill of rights.

Bullet four of Article I of the Virginia Sports Bettors’ Bill of Rights requires permit holders to make information publicly available about the permit holder’s internal reporting protocols relating to suspicions of fraud.  This is not required by statute, nor is it required by any other state.  Permit holders should not be required to disclose to the public their internal reporting protocols on detecting and report suspicious/fraudulent behavior.  Public disclosure of these protocols serves no public purpose and would only serves to assist potential fraudsters in attempts to circumvent these protocols.  This provision should be amended to only require permit holders to provide information to the public on how the public would be able report suspicions of fraud to the appropriate authority.

Bullet five of Article I of the Virginia Sports Bettors’ Bill of Rights requires permit holders to provide information to the public on the prohibition of athletes and certain individuals associated with athletic events from wagering.   To improve clarity and conformity with statutory provisions, the language in this provision should be updated to directly reflect the statutory definition of “prohibited bettor” contained in Section 58.1-4041(C).

To address the concerns raised above, we suggest the following changes to Article I of the Virginia Sports Bettors’ Bill of Rights:

“I.        The Right to Integrity and Transparency

Sports bettors have the right to access information necessary for bet-making, as well as information demonstrating that the permit holder’s offerings are administered legally and fairly in all respects. Such information includes but is not limited to:

• • The amount the player is wagering at time of wager confirmation; [handle of the bet]
  • The odds at which the wager is offered; [and pertinent information used to calculate those odds]
  • Payout amounts and schedule of payouts;
  • Systems for members of the public to report[ing] suspicions of fraud; [, such as internal reporting protocols and available legal actions]
  • Prohibition of any competitor, coach, trainer, employee, or owner of a team in a professional or college sports event, or any referee for a professional or college sports event, from placing a bet on any event in a league in which such person participates; [athletes and team affiliates, including employees, from betting on games, ? leagues, or sports in which they participate]
  • Contact information for the permit holder; and
  • Resources for problem gambling, expressed in a clear and easily accessible manner.”