TITLE 11. GAMING

VIRGINIA LOTTERY BOARD

Fast-Track Regulation

Title of Regulation: 11VAC5-31. Licensing Regulations (amending 11VAC5-31-10, 11VAC5-31-30 through 11VAC5-31-90, 11VAC5-31-140, 11VAC5-31-150, 11VAC5-31-160).

Statutory Authority: § 58.1-4007 of the Code of Virginia.

Public Hearing Information: No public hearing is currently scheduled.

Public Comment Deadline: January 28, 2026.

Effective Date: February 12, 2026.

Agency Contact: Amy Roper, Regulatory Coordinator, Virginia Lottery, 600 East Main Street, First Floor, Richmond, VA 23219, telephone (804) 692-7133, FAX (804) 692-7325, or email aroper@valottery.com.

Basis: Pursuant to § 58.1-4007 of the Code of Virginia, the powers of the Virginia Lottery Board include that the board shall adopt regulations governing the establishment and operation of a lottery, which shall be promulgated by the board after consultation with the Director of the Virginia Lottery.

Purpose: This action is essential to protect the health, safety, or welfare of citizens because (i) it ensures player understanding of the terminologies used for lottery play and allows for seamless transition between the regulation, the Lottery game and promotion rules, and the agency website; and (ii) it documents agency adjustments in certain equipment care, fees, and details for retailer banks and electronic funds transfers.

Rationale for Using Fast-Track Rulemaking Process: This action is expected to be noncontroversial and therefore appropriate for the fast-track rulemaking process because it (i) provides clarifying language, which eliminates any potential confusion; and (ii) synchronizes the terminologies between the regulation, the Lottery game and promotion rules, and the agency website.

Substance: This action changes all instances of "agent" and "sales agent" to the currently used and more familiar term "retailer," increases the additional penalty for late or unpaid retailer payment to $50, clarifies language regarding a retailer's bank, and clarifies retailer requirements to protect and maintain equipment.

Issues: The advantage of the amendments for the public and Commonwealth is that they will provide for all matters necessary or desirable for the efficient, honest, and economical operation and administration of the lottery and for the convenience of the purchasers of tickets or shares and the holders of winning tickets or shares. There are no disadvantages to the Commonwealth or the public.

Department of Planning and Budget Economic Impact Analysis:

The Department of Planning and Budget (DPB) has analyzed the economic impact of this proposed regulation in accordance with § 2.2-4007.04 of the Code of Virginia and Executive Order 19. The analysis presented represents DPB's best estimate of the potential economic impacts as of the date of this analysis.¹

Summary of the Proposed Amendments to Regulation. The Virginia Lottery Board (board) proposes to amend the Licensing Regulations (11VAC5-31) to implement changes resulting from a 2024 periodic review.²

Background. As a result of a 2024 periodic review, the board seeks to (i) update or correct outdated terminology, (ii) update the penalty for retailers who fail to make payment when payment is due, and also the service charge for dishonored payments, and (iii) update the related forms. The most substantive changes are summarized.

11VAC5-31-10 and 11VAC5-31-160 would be amended to remove the definitions or and references to the vacuum fluorescent display and the Enterprise Series MultiMedia display as the agency no longer uses this equipment. Instead, 11VAC5-31-160 would simply refer to agency equipment.

11VAC5-31-140 would be amended to increase the penalty for retailers who fail to make payment when payment is due from $25 to $50. Similarly, the service charge assessed against any retailer whose payment through EFT transaction or by check is dishonored would be increased from $25 to $50. Virginia Lottery reports that these changes reflect the fees that the agency already charges in practice.

The forms would be updated to match the forms currently accessible on the Virginia Lottery website via an online document signing platform.³ Lastly, references to agent or sales agent would be replaced with retailer throughout the regulation and other minor clarifying changes would be made.

Estimated Benefits and Costs. Current license holders as well as applicants for new licenses benefit from having clear and accurate information. Thus, changes which ensure the regulation matches the information on the Virginia Lottery website, or on forms or other documents, are beneficial. The changes to the regulation also include an increase in the penalty fee charged for late payments and dishonored payments from $25 to $50 (a 100% increase), which would increase the cost to retailers who are subject to these penalties. However, Virginia Lottery reports that the higher fee is already being charged in practice.

Businesses and Other Entities Affected. This regulation applies to applicants for a lottery retail license as well as current retail license holders. The Code of Virginia requires DPB to assess whether an adverse impact may result from the proposed regulation.⁴ An adverse impact is indicated if there is any increase in net cost or reduction in net benefit for any entity, even if the benefits exceed the costs for all entities combined.⁵ The proposed amendments would increase the penalty fees for late payments and dishonored payments in the regulation. However, because these fees are already charged in practice, there will be no effect from changing the regulation other than an improvement in regulatory clarity. Thus, an adverse impact is not indicated.

Small Businesses⁶ Affected.⁷ The proposed amendments do not adversely affect small businesses.

Localities⁸ Affected.⁹ The proposed amendments do not affect any locality in particular and do not appear to increase costs for local governments.

Projected Impact on Employment. The proposed amendments are not expected to have an impact on employment.

Effects on the Use and Value of Private Property. The proposed amendments do not appear to affect the use and value of private property nor real estate development costs.

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¹ Section 2.2-4007.04 of the Code of Virginia requires that such economic impact analyses determine the public benefits and costs of the proposed amendments. Further the analysis should include but not be limited to: (1) the projected number of businesses or other entities to whom the proposed regulatory action would apply, (2) the identity of any localities and types of businesses or other entities particularly affected, (3) the projected number of persons and employment positions to be affected, (4) the projected costs to affected businesses or entities to implement or comply with the regulation, and (5) the impact on the use and value of private property.

² See https://townhall.virginia.gov/L/ViewPReview.cfm?PRid=2561.

³ See https://www.valottery.com/aboutus/retailer. Whereas the website uses Docu-sign and requires individuals to enter their name and email address prior to seeing an editable version of the PDF file, the regulation would directly link to the PDF versions, which can be useful to see what information will be required on the forms..

⁴ Pursuant to § 2.2-4007.04 D: In the event this economic impact analysis reveals that the proposed regulation would have an adverse economic impact on businesses or would impose a significant adverse economic impact on a locality, business, or entity particularly affected, the Department of Planning and Budget shall advise the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules, the House Committee on Appropriations, and the Senate Committee on Finance. Statute does not define "adverse impact," state whether only Virginia entities should be considered, nor indicate whether an adverse impact results from regulatory requirements mandated by legislation.

⁵ Statute does not define "adverse impact," state whether only Virginia entities should be considered, nor indicate whether an adverse impact results from regulatory requirements mandated by legislation. As a result, DPB has adopted a definition of adverse impact that assesses changes in net costs and benefits for each affected Virginia entity that directly results from discretionary changes to the regulation.

⁶ Pursuant to § 2.2-4007.04, small business is defined as "a business entity, including its affiliates, that (i) is independently owned and operated and (ii) employs fewer than 500 full-time employees or has gross annual sales of less than $6 million."

⁷ If the proposed regulatory action may have an adverse effect on small businesses, § 2.2-4007.04 requires that such economic impact analyses include: (1) an identification and estimate of the number of small businesses subject to the proposed regulation, (2) the projected reporting, recordkeeping, and other administrative costs required for small businesses to comply with the proposed regulation, including the type of professional skills necessary for preparing required reports and other documents, (3) a statement of the probable effect of the proposed regulation on affected small businesses, and (4) a description of any less intrusive or less costly alternative methods of achieving the purpose of the proposed regulation. Additionally, pursuant to § 2.2-4007.1 of the Code of Virginia, if there is a finding that a proposed regulation may have an adverse impact on small business, the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules shall be notified.

⁸ "Locality" can refer to either local governments or the locations in the Commonwealth where the activities relevant to the regulatory change are most likely to occur.

⁹ Section 2.2-4007.04 defines "particularly affected" as bearing disproportionate material impact.

Agency Response to Economic Impact Analysis: Having reviewed the economic impact analysis prepared by the Department of Planning and Budget, the Virginia Lottery finds it satisfactory and has no additional comments.

Summary:

The amendments (i) change all instances of "agent" and "sales agent" to "retailer"; (ii) increase the additional penalty for late or unpaid retailer payment to $50; (iii) clarify language regarding a retailer's bank and a retailer requirement to protect and maintain equipment; and (iv) update forms required by the regulation.

11VAC5-31-10. Definitions.

The following words and terms when used in any of the agency's regulations shall have the same meanings as defined in this chapter unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Agency" means the Virginia Lottery created by the Virginia Lottery Law; Sports Betting (Chapter 40 (§ 58.1-4000 et seq.) of Title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia).

"Board" means the Virginia Lottery Board established by the Virginia Lottery Law; Sports Betting (Chapter 40 (§ 58.1-4000 et seq.) of Title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia).

"Director" means the Executive Director of the Virginia Lottery or his the director's designee.

"Enterprise Series MultiMedia (ESMM) display" means a player display unit that, when connected to the lottery terminal, displays messages to the customer pertaining to lottery products, drawing messages, and other lottery-related messages.

"License" means the certificate issued by the agency to a retailer who has met the requirements established by the agency to sell lottery products.

"Lottery retailer," "lottery sales agent," or "retailer" means a person licensed by the director to sell and dispense lottery tickets or products and act as the agency's representative to collect, preserve, and account for Commonwealth of Virginia trust funds.

"Person," for purposes of licensing, means an individual, association, partnership, corporation, club, trust, estate, society, company, joint stock company, receiver, trustee, assignee, referee, or any other person acting in a fiduciary or representative capacity, whether appointed by a court or otherwise, and any combination of individuals, as well as all departments, commissions, agencies and instrumentalities of the Commonwealth, including its counties, cities, municipalities, political subdivisions, agencies, and instrumentalities thereof.

"Vacuum fluorescent display" means a player display unit that, when connected to the lottery terminal, presents messages to the customer, such as customer transaction totals, validation and cancellation amounts, and jackpot drawing messages.

11VAC5-31-30. Application procedure.

A. Any eligible person shall first file an application with the agency by completing all information requested on forms supplied for that purpose, along with submitting any required fees.

B. The submission of application forms or data for licensure does not in any way entitle any person to receive a license to act as a lottery retailer.

C. In the event an applicant is a former licensed lottery sales agent retailer whose license was suspended, revoked, or refused renewal pursuant to § 58.1-4009 or 58.1-4012 of the Code of Virginia, no application for a new license to sell lottery tickets or shares shall be considered for a minimum period of 90 days following the suspension, revocation, or refusal to renew.

D. The person shall submit all required forms and information to the agency to be considered for licensing. Failure to submit required forms within the agency's licensing procedures may result in the loss of opportunity to become or remain a licensed retailer.

11VAC5-31-40. General standards for licensing.

A. The director or his the director's designee may license those persons who, in his the director's opinion, will best serve the public interest and convenience and public trust in the lottery and promote the sale of lottery tickets. Before issuing or renewing a license, the director may consider factors including, but not limited to, the following:

1. Those factors set out in § 58.1-4009 of the Code of Virginia, these regulations, and the agency's licensing procedures;

2. The ability to offer a high level of customer service to lottery players;

3. The person's prior history, record, and performance with the agency;

4. Whether the place of business caters to or is frequented predominately by persons under younger than 18 years of age;

5. Whether the nature of the business constitutes a threat to the health or safety of prospective patrons;

6. Whether the nature of the business is consonant with the probity of the Commonwealth; and

7. Whether the person or retailer has (i) committed any act of fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, moral turpitude, or illegal gambling or (ii) engaged in conduct prejudicial to public confidence in the state lottery.

B. Special retailer licensing.

1. The director may license special lottery retailers subject to such conditions or limitations as the director may deem prudent and if the director finds there is a need to develop alternative business models to engage in partnerships with certain retailers that are consistent with the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia and these regulations. These limitations or conditions may include, but are not limited to:

a. Length of license period;

b. Hours or day of sale;

c. Selling of only limited products;

d. Specific persons who are allowed to sell lottery tickets;

e. Specific sporting, charitable, social, or other special events where lottery tickets may be sold if in conformity with law; or

f. Different commission and payment structures and bonding requirements.

2. Special licensed agents retailers will be subject to these regulations this chapter.

11VAC5-31-50. Bonding of lottery retailers.

A. A lottery retailer shall have and maintain a surety bond from a surety company entitled to do business in this Commonwealth. The surety bond shall be in an amount as deemed necessary to secure the interests of the Commonwealth and the agency, in the sole discretion of the director, and shall be payable to the agency and conditioned upon the faithful performance of the lottery retailer's duties.

B. The agency may establish a sliding scale for surety bonding requirements based on the average volume of lottery ticket sales by a retailer to ensure that the Commonwealth's interest in tickets to be sold by a licensed lottery retailer is adequately safeguarded.

C. Prior to issuance of a license, every lottery sales agent retailer shall either (i) be bonded by a surety company entitled to do business in this Commonwealth in such amount and penalty as may be prescribed by the regulations of the department or (ii) provide such other surety as may be satisfactory to the director, payable to the agency, and conditioned upon the faithful performance of his the director's duties. Such alternate surety instruments or arrangements may include, but not be limited to, a combination of surety instruments, including cash.

11VAC5-31-60. Lottery bank accounts and electronic funds transfer (EFT) authorization.

A. A lottery retailer shall have and maintain a separate bank account in a bank participating in the Automatic Clearing House (ACH) system. This account shall be styled in the name of the retailer followed by "Virginia Lottery Trust" and shall be used exclusively for lottery business.

B. The lottery account shall be used by the retailer to make funds available to permit withdrawals and deposits initiated by the agency through the electronic funds transfer (EFT) process to settle a retailer's account for funds owed by or due to the retailer from the sale of tickets and the payment of prizes. All retailers shall make payments to the agency through the EFT process in accordance with the agency's licensing procedures, unless the director designates another form of payment and settlement under terms and conditions he the director deems appropriate.

C. The retailer shall be responsible for payment of any fees or service charges assessed by the retailer's bank for maintaining the required account.

D. The director will establish a schedule for processing the EFT transactions against retailers' lottery trust accounts and issue instructions regarding the settlement of accounts.

11VAC5-31-70. License term and periodic review.

A. A general license for an approved lottery sales agent retailer shall be issued for a specific term and is thereafter subject to a periodic determination of continued retailer eligibility and the payment of any fees fixed by the board.

B. The director may issue special licenses to persons for specific events and activities in accordance with the requirements of the agency's licensing procedures.

11VAC5-31-80. License fees.

An initial licensing fee up to $100 and an annual license fee up to $70 shall be collected from each lottery sales agent retailer and shall be paid in accordance with the agency's licensing procedures. These fees are nonrefundable, unless otherwise determined by the director in his the director's sole discretion or specified in the agency's procedures. The license fees shall be paid for each location.

11VAC5-31-90. Transfer of license prohibited.

A license issued by the director authorizes a specified person to act as a lottery sales agent retailer at a specified location or locations. The license is not transferrable or assignable to any other person or persons or location or locations.

11VAC5-31-140. Deposit of lottery receipts; interest and penalty for late payment; dishonored EFT transactions or checks.

A. Payments shall be due from retailers as specified by the director in accordance with agency policies.

B. Any retailer who fails to make payment when payment is due will be contacted by the agency and instructed to make immediate deposit of the funds due. If the retailer is not able to deposit the necessary funds or if the item is returned to the department unpaid for a second time, the retailer's license may be inactivated. If inactivated, the license will not be reactivated until payment is made by cashier's check, certified check, or electronic funds transfer (EFT) transaction, and if the retailer is deemed a continuing credit risk by the agency, not until an informal conference is held to determine if the licensee is able and willing to meet the terms of his retailer contract. Additionally, interest may be charged on the moneys due plus a $25 $50 penalty. The interest charge will be equal to the "Underpayment Rate" established pursuant to § 58.1-15 of the Code of Virginia. The interest charge will be calculated beginning the date following the retailer's due date for payment through the day preceding receipt of the late payment by the agency for deposit.

C. In addition to the penalty authorized by subsection B of this section, the director may assess a $25 $50 service charge against any retailer whose payment through EFT transaction or by check is dishonored.

D. The service charge, interest, and penalty charges may be waived if it is determined by the agency that the event that otherwise would result in the assessment of a service charge, interest, or penalty is not in any way the fault of the lottery retailer.

11VAC5-31-150. Licensed retailers' compensation.

A. A licensed retailer shall receive up to 5.0% compensation based on his net ticket sales and up to 1.0% of the cash value of all prizes which that the retailer paid.

B. Except as provided pursuant to the State Lottery Law (§ 58.1-4000 et seq. of the Code of Virginia), the board shall approve any bonus or incentive system for payment to retailers. The director may then award such cash bonuses or other incentives to retailers.

C. Retailers may not accept any compensation for the sale of lottery tickets other than compensation approved under this section, regardless of the source.

D. Nothing in this regulation chapter shall be inconsistent with §§ 58.1-4006 D and 58.1-4007 A 11 of the Code of Virginia.

11VAC5-31-160. Denial, suspension, revocation, or noncontinuation of license.

A. The director may refuse to issue a license to a person if the person does not meet the eligibility criteria and standards for licensing as set out in § 58.1-4009 of the Code of Virginia, this chapter, and in the agency's licensing procedures, or if:

1. The person's place of business caters to or is frequented predominantly by persons under 18 years of age, but excluding family-oriented businesses;

2. The nature of the person's business constitutes a threat to the health or safety of prospective lottery patrons;

3. The nature of the person's business is not consonant with the probity of the Commonwealth;

4. The person has committed any act of fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, moral turpitude, or illegal gambling or engaged in conduct prejudicial to public confidence in the state lottery;

5. The person falsifies or misrepresents a material fact on any application, form, document, or data submitted during the licensure process;

6. The person has an unsatisfactory prior history, record, or performance with the lottery;

7. The person's place of business represents a substantial risk for the collection, deposit, preservation, accounting, or safeguarding of Commonwealth of Virginia Trust Funds, irrespective of the bond or surety provided by the person;

8. The person has been suspended permanently from a federal or state licensing or authorization program and that person has exhausted all administrative remedies pursuant to the respective agency's regulations or procedures; or

9. The proposed retailer's licensed location or locations do does not comply with the requirements of the department's Retailer Accessibility Guidelines effective January 1, 2011, as applicable.

B. The director may suspend, revoke, or refuse to continue a license for any of the reasons enumerated in § 58.1-4012 of the Code of Virginia, in subsection A of this section, in the agency's procedures, or for any of the following reasons:

1. Failure to maintain the required lottery trust account;

2. Failure to comply with lottery game rules;

3. Failure The impeding of the agency equipment's intended use or visibility or failure to properly care for, or prevent the abuse of, the agency's equipment, or failure to properly position and display the vacuum fluorescent display or Enterprise Series MultiMedia (ESMM) display;

4. Failure to meet minimum point-of-sale standards;

5. Failure to continue to meet the eligibility criteria and standards for licensing; or

6. Failure to comply with (i) any applicable law or statute, rule, policy, or procedure of the agency; (ii) license terms and conditions; (iii) specific rules for all applicable agency games; (iv) directives and instructions that may be issued by the director; and (v) licensing and equipment agreements and contracts signed by the retailer.

C. Any person refused a license under subsection A or B of this section may appeal the director's decision in the manner provided by 11VAC5-20-150.

D. Before taking action under subsection A or B of this section, the director will notify the retailer in writing of his intent to suspend, revoke, or deny continuation of the license. The notification will include the reason or reasons for the proposed action and will provide the retailer with the procedures for requesting a conference. Such notice shall be given to the retailer in accordance with the provisions of the agency's regulations.

E. If the director deems it necessary in order to serve the public interest and maintain public trust in the lottery, he the director may temporarily suspend a license without first notifying the retailer. Such suspension will be in effect until any prosecution, hearing, or investigation into alleged violations is concluded.

F. A retailer shall surrender his the retailer's license to the director by the date specified in the notice of revocation or suspension. The retailer shall also surrender the lottery property in his the retailer's possession and give a final lottery accounting of his the retailer's lottery activities by the date specified by the director.

FORMS (11VAC5-31)

Retailer License Application, VAL-0062 (rev. 9/14)

Retailer Contract (rev. 1/14)

Retailer Agreement for Authorized Payments (rev. 10/2024)

Retailer Contract (rev. 7/2025)

Retailer License Application (rev. 7/2025)

Retailer Licensing Checklist (rev. 7/2025)

Retailer Location Form (rev. 7/2025)

Retailer Personal Data Form (rev. 7/2025)

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (11VAC5-31)

ADA Update: A Primer for Small Business, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, March 15, 2011