11 VAC 5-60-60 Forfeiture of Winnings by Excluded Individuals

GLI Recommendations

1. If a sports betting permit holder detects, or is notified of, the presence of a sports bettor player suspected of being a self-excluded individual who has engaged in or is engaging in gaming activity, the permit holder shall take reasonable measures to verify that the sports bettor player is a self-excluded individual and the evidence of the individual's exclusion.
2. Upon verification of an self-excluded status, the sports betting permit holder shall:
   1. Immediately prohibit access to the individual's sports betting player account and seize the individual’s winnings or other things of value;
   2. Issue a Payout Receipt and Notice of Forfeiture to the excluded player individual via electronic or regular mail, containing the following:
      1. The total value and a detailed description of winnings or things of value that were seized;
      2. The date of the incident;
      3. The name of the self-excluded individual, if known, and basis for determining the individual is an self-excluded individual;
      4. The street and mailing address of the self-excluded individual, if known, at which he or she may be noticed regarding any future proceedings;
      5. The identification of the internet or mobile wagering session time period during which the self-excluded individual was engaged in a gaming transaction; and
      6. Notice to the self-excluded individual that the Department shall be seeking forfeiture of the winnings or things of value seized that the individual has the right to be heard about the forfeiture, and that failure to respond to a forfeiture notice from the Department shall be deemed a waiver of the right to be heard.
3. The original Payout Receipt and Notice of Forfeiture prepared and signed as required in B. above shall be maintained on file by the sports betting permit holder. Copies of the document shall be provided to the self-excluded individual and filed with the Department, which filing may be made electronically.
4. All funds designated by a permit holder as subject to forfeiture shall be maintained separately and held by the sports betting permit holder until further order of the Department or upon notice from the Department that they may be released.
5. Pursuant to the self-excluded individual’s request submitted under 11 VAC 5-60-20, any winnings or things of value seized from an self-excluded individual shall be subject to forfeiture, following notice to the self-excluded individual and an opportunity to be heard. A failure to respond to a forfeiture notice shall result in the waiver of the right to be heard.
6. The internal controls of a sports betting permit holder shall contain procedures for processing any winnings or things of value confiscated or withheld from an self-excluded individual as if the winnings or things of value were paid and reported in accordance with normal procedures applicable to such payouts. Such procedures shall include, however, such modification to forms or additional documentation as necessary to record and report the payout as a payout confiscated or withheld from an self-excluded individual. This documentation shall be compared by the sports betting permit holder’s accounting department at the end of the gaming day to the copy of the Payout Receipt and Notice of Forfeiture. Any winnings or things of value confiscated or withheld from an self-excluded individual that are paid and reported in accordance with the normal procedures applicable to such payouts, as modified in this section, shall be deducted in the calculation of gross revenue as if the winnings or things of value were actually paid to the self-excluded individual.
7. The Department may initiate forfeiture of an self-excluded individual’s winnings or things of value and by sending notice to the self-excluded individual via personal service or regular mail sent to the address contained within the player account information or as provided by the individual in the request for voluntary self-exclusion. Notice shall include a description of the winnings or things of value subject to forfeiture and the self-excluded individual's right to a hearing.
8. If the self-excluded individual wishes to contest the forfeiture, the individual shall submit a written request for a hearing within 15 days of the date of the notice of the forfeiture. If no response is filed by the self-excluded individual within 15 days of the date of the notice of the forfeiture, the winnings or things of value shall be deemed forfeited and transmitted to the Commonwealth’s Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund. The decision of the Board shall be final and may not be appealed.

GLI recommends

1. Requirements cover all permit holders of gaming regulated by the Board and not just sports betting.
2. Coverage of both involuntary and voluntary exclusion lists.