11 VAC 5-70-290.  Player Accounts.

Subsection (B) of this section provides a five year record retention requirement on permit holders, however the provisions of §58.1-4034(C) of the Code of Virginia only imposes a three year record retention requirement.  To conform the requirements of the regulation to those in statute, this requirement should be change to three years.

Subsections (G) and (H) of this section provide the forms in which players may deposit funds to, and withdraw funds from, their sports betting accounts.  While there are a number of options included in these subsections as drafted, two popular options, cash and reloadable prepaid cards, were inadvertently left out.  Reloadable prepaid cards have shown to be a popular option for funding sports betting accounts in other states and should be authorized in Virginia.

To address the concerns raised above, we suggest the following changes to 11 VAC 5-70-290:

“B.  The information necessary to initiate a player account shall be recorded and maintained for a period of [five] three years, and shall include at least the:

…

E.  A player account may be funded using:   

1. A debit card; 

2. A credit card;

3. An electronic bank transfer, including a transfer through third parties; 
4. An online or mobile payment systems that supports online money transfers; 
5. Winnings or payouts; [and] 
6. Cash;

7. Reloadable prepaid card; and

8. Any other means approved by the Board. 

H. Funds may be withdrawn from a player account through: 

1. Wagers; 
2. Cashier’s check, wire transfer, or money order by the permit holder made payable to the player and issued directly or delivered to the player’s address on file with the permit holder; 
3. Credits to the player’s debit card; 
4. Credits to the player’s credit card; 
5. Electronic bank transfers, including transfers through third parties; 
6. Online or mobile payment systems that support online money transfers; [or] 
7. Reloadable prepaid cards; or

8. Any other means approved by the Board.”