Overview

The Virginia Lottery is currently accepting applications for anyone interested in becoming a sports betting supplier or vendor and any individual or company that meets the definition of a principal, principal entity or employee. Click here for the related definitions.

The Lottery is no longer accepting applications for sports betting permits as the initial application period has closed. Anyone interested in applying for a license will need to designate an individual that will be responsible for uploading all of the required documentation into the online licensing system. This individual should serve in the role of a Compliance Officer or a similar role as they will be responsible for handling confidential sensitive information. This individual should contact the Lottery’s Gaming Licensing and Investigations Division at 804-692-7165 or send an email to gaminglicensing@valottery.com to obtain access to the system.

All required fees are due at the time the application is submitted. Click here for further information regarding fees.

NOTE: CASINO LICENSE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE UNTIL APRIL 2021.

In order for potential sports betting applicants to begin to prepare for the submission of applications, the following information has been provided:

Resource Guides

Account Representative resources guide: This guide provides information for the individual responsible for coordinating the submission of all required applications. This individual should serve in the role of a Compliance Officer or similar as they will be required to handle confidential sensitive information. The resources guide provides step by step instruction on how to set up applicant user accounts for individuals within their company that meet the definition of principal, principal entity, or employee so that the required applications can be submitted . The resource guide also specifies the documentation that must be collected based on license type and uploaded into the licensing system. The resource guide also provides copies of the forms that the applicants need to have notarized for upload into the licensing system.

Supplier resource guide. This guide provides step-by step instructions on how to apply for a supplier license.

Vendor resource guide. This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to apply for a vendor registration.

Principal applicant resource guide. This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to apply for a principal license.

Principal entity applicant resource guide. This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to apply for a principal entity license.

Employee applicant resource guide. This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to apply for an employee license. 

Sample Applications

Permit Holder Application

Supplier Application

Vendor Application

Principal Application

Principle Entity Application

Employee Application   

Sample applications are to be used by potential applicants for reference purposes only. Paper applications will NOT be accepted. In order for an application to be considered complete, all requested documentation will need to be submitted.

Definitions

“Sports betting permit holder” means a person who has been issued a permit by the Department to operate a sports betting platform.

“Sports betting supplier” or “Supplier” means a person who: (a) manages, administers, or controls wagers initiated, received or made on a sports betting platform; (b) manages, administers, or controls the games on which wagers are initiate, received, or made on a sports betting platform; or (c) maintains or operates the software or hardware of a sports betting platform, including geolocation services, customer integration, and customer account management.

“Vendor or sports betting vendor” means a person within the Commonwealth of Virginia who is engaged by, under contract to, or acting on behalf of a permit holder to provide sports betting-related goods or services that directly affects sports betting in Virginia and who does not meet the criteria for licensing as a principal or a supplier, such as a marketing affiliate or an equipment maintenance vendor.

“Principal” means an individual who, solely or together with the individual’s immediate family members, (i) owns or controls, directly or indirectly, five percent or more of the pecuniary interest in an entity that is a permit holder, or (ii) has the power to vote or cause the vote of five percent or more of the voting securities or other ownership 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 the purposes of this definition, “employed in a managerial capacity” means the Chief Executive Officer of the permit holder and, if applicable, its sports betting platform supplier, and any individual who has ultimate responsibility for the operation of the sports betting platform in Virginia.

“Principal entity” means an company who, (i) owns or controls, directly or indirectly, five percent or more of the pecuniary interest in an entity that is a permit holder, or (ii) has the power to vote or cause the vote of five percent or more of the voting securities or other ownership of such entity.

“Sports betting employee” means an individual who does not meet the definition of a principal and works within the boarders of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a permit holder, sports betting supplier, or vendor on non-management support services such as software or hardware maintenance, provision of products, services, information or assets, directly or indirectly, to the permit holder.

Fee information

Permit Holder Application – No fee due at time of submission; however, a fee of $250,000 is due prior to the award of a permit.

Principal Application - $50,000 non-refundable fee per principal/principal entity. Further fees may be required.

Supplier Application for a sports betting platform- $125,000 of which $115,000 is refundable if the cost of the background investigation does not exceed $115,000. Additional fees will be required if the cost exceeds $115,000.

Supplier Application for something other than a sports betting platform - $50,000 of which $5,000 is refundable if the cost of the background investigation does not exceed $45,000. Additional fees will be required if the cost exceeds $45,000.

Employee Application fee - $500

Vendor Application fee - $500

All fees shall be remitted as follows:

Wire Payment To:

Virginia Lottery Account Number: 435029087446

Name of the Account: Gaming License Fees

Transit Routing Number: 026009593

ACH Instructions:

Virginia Lottery Account Number: 435029087446

Name of the Account: Gaming License Fees

Transit Routing Number: 051000017

Investigations will not begin until the required fees are remitted.

Approved Permit Holders

• Betfair Interactive US LLC (d/b/a FanDuel) in conjunction with the Washington Football Team (temporary permit) Approved 1/20/21

Approved Suppliers

• IGT – temporary supplier license Approved 1/20/21
• GeoComply Solutions, Inc – temporary supplier license Approved 1/20/21

Approved Vendors by date

Testing/Certification Labs Approved

• Gaming Laboratories International, LLC
• Bulletproof Solutions, INC.

Testing and certification labs interested in being approved by the Virginia Lottery to be utilized by sports betting operators should email a letter of request to:

Gina Smith

Deputy Director of Gaming Compliance

Gaminglicensing@valottery.com

The letter should contain information on the company submitting the request to include experience in certifying sports betting systems as well as any other experience the company believes is relevant to assist the Lottery in its approval process.

Virginia Administrative Code: Virginia Lottery Board; Sports Betting

Sports Betting Links

1. Code of Virginia, Chapter 40. Virginia Lottery Law; Sports Betting
2. FAQs Updated 10/1/2020
3. Point of Contact
4. Key Dates Updated 9/10/2020
5. Townhall General Notice on Draft Sports Betting Licensing and Consumer Protection Regulations
6. Townhall General Notice on Draft Sports Betting Operations and Internal Control Regulations

Casino Links

1. Code of Virginia, Chapter 41. Casino Gaming
2. FAQs
3. Point of Contact
4. Key Dates
5. Emergency Regulations Process
6. Preliminary Review Guidelines
   • Supplemental forms
   • Casino Business Entity Disclosure Form
   • Joint Acknowledgment

Report Infractions

Introduction copy goes here!

Authorized Sports Events, Leagues, and Bet Types

January 13, 2021

The purpose of this document is to provide guidance to sports wagering operators on approved leagues and events as well as acceptable wager types.  This directive is authorized by 11 VAC 70-170, is subject to change, and may be updated from time to time.  It is the policy of the Department that sports wagering may only occur on events and leagues which have integrity policies.

Unless specifically prohibited below, sport wagering operators may offer wagers (future or in-play) or proposition bets (which means wagers on a single specific action, statistic, occurrence, or non-occurrence to be determined during a sporting event and includes any such action that does not directly affect the final outcome of the sporting event to which it relates) for all leagues and events where the results are determined on the field of play and can be confirmed by a box score or statistical analysis.

Examples of approved wagers include:

• Single game bets
• Moneyline
• Teaser bets
• Parlays
• Over-Under
• Pools
• Exchange Wagering
• In-Game Wagering
• In-Play Bets
• Proposition Bets
• Straight Bets

Prohibited Events/Wagers include:

• 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 a Virginia college sports team is a participant.
• Any wager on the Olympics.
• Proposition wagers on any type of possible injury, unsportsmanlike conduct or any other officiating call.Examples of impermissible player propositions include but are not limited to wagers that are:
• Injury related, such as will a player suffer an injury, how any games will an injured player miss.
• Officiating calls, such as when will the first penalty flag be thrown, when will the first foul be called, what will be the game’s first penalty.
• Wagering on the outcome of subjective trophy awards such as MLB Cy Young, MVP, Heisman Trophy, etc.

Procedure for Approval of New Events/Wagers

Sports betting operators must submit catalogues to the Department for review and approval prior to launching its sports betting operations.  Initial catalogs may be submitted to SBEVENTS@valottery.com. 

A sports betting operator shall not accept any wager on a sports event or type of wager or specific wager unless it has been approved by the Department and published in this directive.  A sport betting operator may request approval of additional events and wagers that are not included in this directive or in the initial catalog that was approved by the Department by submitting a request to SBEVENTS@valottery.com at least 72 hours prior to the new offering.  This request must include, at a minimum, (1) the name of the sports governing body in charge of administering the event or the wager and (2) a description of the event and/or wager that the operator intends to offer.  Operators should submit updated house rules as necessary for each new approval. 

Operators must receive Department approval prior to offering the new event or wager.

Current Approved Leagues/Events

as of January 21, 2021

Football

• National Football League (NFL)
• Canadian League (CFL)
• NCAA College Football (NCAAF)

Baseball

• Major League Baseball (MLB)
• Nippon Professional Baseball
• The KBO League
• NCAA

Basketball

• National Basketball League (NBA)
• NCAA
• Woman’s National Basketball League (WNBA)
• FIBA regulated county vs country allowable qualifies /games/tournaments
• Euro Leagues/Euro Cup
• World Championships

Boxing

• World Boxing Association (WBA)
• World Boxing Organization (WBO)
• International Boxing Federation (IBF)
• World Boxing Council (WBC)

Golf

• PGA, including global tours
• PGA Tour Champions
• International Events (e.g., Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup, Solheim Cup)
• European Tour
• LPGA
• Korn Ferry Tour

Ice Hockey

• National Hockey League
• International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF)
• Swedish Hockey league
• Kontinental Hockey League
• SM-Liiga
• NCAA

Lacrosse

• NCAA
• Premier Lacrosse League

Mixed Martial Arts

• Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
• Bellator MMA
• One Championship
• Professional Fighters League

Motorsports

• NASCAR, including series
• IndyCar
• Formula 1
• Moto America

Soccer

• US Major League Soccer
• FIFA Sanctioned Events
• AFC Champions League (Men/Women)
• African Cup of Nations (Men/Women)
• CAF Champions League (Men/Women)
• CONCACAF Champions League (Men/Women)
• Copa Libertadores (CONMEBOL) (Men/Women)
• Copa Sudamericana (CONMEBOL) (Men/Women)
• FIFA Sanctioned Events
• OFC Champions League
• UEFA - Europa League
• UEFA - Nations League
• UEFA - Super Cup
• UEFA Champions League
• US - National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL)
• US - North American Soccer League (NASL)
• US - USL Championship Division
• US - USL League 1
• US Open Cup
• England - Championship League
• England - League One
• England - League Two

In addition to the above, the top two tiers and domestic cups for the following soccer confederation countries:

• AFC: Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea;
• CONCACAF: Argentina, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Panama
• CONMEBOL:Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela
• UEFA: All UEFA member countries

Tennis

• Woman’s Tennis Association Tour and WTA 125K Series
• International Tennis Federation
• NCAA
• Association of Tennis Professionals: ATP Tour, Challenger Series
• Grand Slam Events

News and Information

The Virginia Lottery has been tasked with regulatory responsibilities for land-based casinos and internet sports betting. This includes regulation, licensing, auditing, and compliance for gaming operators, equipment manufacturers and distributors, suppliers and employees.

*Updated 8/11/2020*