Overview

The Virginia Lottery will open its annual sports betting permit application period on May 15, 2021. The application period will run from May 15, 2021 through May 31, 2021 at 11:59:59 PM.  Applicants applying for a sports betting permit are required to submit a narrative of the project plan with their permit application. Click here for detailed information and instructions on how to complete the narrative portion of the application.

In order for your permit application to be considered, you must fully submit your permit application, along with applications for principal employees, principal entities, as well as all required fees, by 11:59:59PM on May 31, 2021. Applications received after 11:59:59 on May 31, 2021 will not be considered.

All applications must be submitted through the Lottery’s online licensing system. Paper applications will NOT be accepted.

Beginning on April 15, 2021, anyone interested in applying for a sports betting permit, should contact the Lottery’s Gaming Licensing and Investigation Division at 804-692-7165 or gaminglicensing@valottery.com to schedule a meeting. The purpose of this meeting will be to determine filing requirements, identify principals and principal entities, provide instructions for accessing the online licensing system and address any other questions applicants may have regarding the application process.

The online licensing system is open at all times for all other application types.

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 similar 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.

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.

Principal Entity Application – no fee 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
• Crown Virginia Gaming, LLC (Draft Kings)
  Temporary Permit - Approved 1/24/2021
• BetMGM, LLC
  Temporary Permit - Approved 1/24/2021
• Portsmouth Gaming Holdings, LLC d/b/a Rivers Casino Portsmouth
  Permit - Approved 1/26/2021
• Caesars Virginia, LLC
  Permit - Approved 1/27/2021
• WSI US, LLC
  Permit – Approved 3/4/2021
• Golden Nugget Online VA, LLC
  Temporary Permit – Approved 3/15/2021
• Bally’s Corporation
  Temporary Permit – Approved 3/15/2021
• Penn Sports Interactive, LLC
  Temporary Permit – Approved 3/15/2021

Approved Suppliers

• IGT
  Temporary Supplier License - Approved 1/20/21
• GeoComply Solutions, Inc
  Temporary Supplier License - Approved 1/20/21
• Sports Information Services, Ltd. d/b/a Kambi
  Approved - 1/26/2021
• RSI VA. LLC d/b/a BetRivers
  Approved - 1/26/2021
• American Wagering d/b/a William Hill Sports Book
  Approved - 1/27/2021
• Neogames Solutions, LLC
  Approved - 1/27/2021
• NYX Digital Gaming (USA), LLC
  Approved – 3/4/2021

Approved Vendors

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.

Gaming Laws

• Sports Betting
• Casino Gaming

Gaming Regulations

Sports Betting:

• Self-Exclusion Program
• Sports Betting
• Consumer Protection Program
• Townhall General Notice on Draft Sports Betting Licensing and Consumer Protection Regulations
• Townhall General Notice on Draft Sports Betting Operations and Internal Control Regulations
• Point of Contact

Casino Gaming:

• Emergency Regulations (effective upon publication in Virginia Register of Regulations)
• Permanent Regulations (under development)
• Casino Regulations: Approximate timeline to adoption
• FAQs
• Key Dates (Host City: Richmond, VA)
• Emergency Regulations Process
• Preliminary Review Guidelines
• Point of Contact

Report Infractions

Authorized Sports Events, Leagues, and Bet Types

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 (pre and/or in-game & futures/outrights) 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 and bet types 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.
• Wagers on drafts (e.g, MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL, WNBA, 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 March 16, 2021 (changes in green)

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.