On Monday, the Virginia Lottery released a full draft of regulations for their upcoming sports betting industry. This was done with the intentions of letting the public look over and comment on the regulations throughout the next few weeks.
Although Virginia sports betting won’t be available until 2021, the state’s Lottery Board is doing everything they can to make this process as transparent as possible.
A Range of Topics Covered
These regulations are all found in a document that has been titled “Sports Bettor’s Bill of Rights” and is meant to cover consumer protections within the industry.
This document also takes an in-depth look at the application process that sportsbooks will need to go through in order to get a license. These are being called the “initial regulations” and the goal is to inform the public and give them the opportunity to weigh in on the upcoming industry.
Some of the major issues that the document discusses include enforcement of the regulations, internal controls, and overall operations. The public is being invited to read through the document and submit any comments or concerns they may have to the Virginia Lottery Board by September 9th.
Kevin Hall, Virginia Lottery Executive Director, made the following comments about the process:
“The regulatory framework we are building now is vital to the process, and we are committed to doing so with transparency to allow stakeholders and the public to weigh-in on these preliminary rules-of-the-road for sports wagering in Virginia.”
What Comes Next for Virginia’s Sports Betting?
While the document is now open to the public for commenting, the process is far from over. In fact, there is still much work to be done.
The next deadline is on September 15th and this is the point where The Lottery Board must approve the final version of these sports betting regulations. That’s just over a month to review any public feedback to finalize the details.
Once approved, the next step in the process will be to finalize the application process. This step will allow mobile platforms to apply for a license. The Lottery Board hopes to roll out this phase during the first week of October if all goes according to schedule.
The goal of The Lottery Board is to have the first licensed mobile platforms up and running by January 2021. This is just in time to capitalize on the most popular sports betting event of the year – the Super Bowl.
In terms of how many licenses will be granted, the state lottery will be allowed to issue up to 12 licenses and are for online sports betting platforms only. Operators will need to ensure that bettors are located in Virginia physically and that they are over the age of 21 before being allowed to place a wager.
As for what people will be able to bet on, the law allows for sports betting on the majority of college sports and major league sports. However, it prohibits any wagers to be placed on games that include teams from Virginia universities and colleges. This is meant to ensure integrity in these collegiate sports.
Rick Rockwell
As a longtime freelance writer, avid sports fan, former athlete, and experienced sports bettor, Rick Rockwell has risen up the ranks at GamblingSites.org to become the self-professed “King of the Blog” in his first year with the site. …
