Bill Text: WV HB4700 | 2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Banning certain persons from sport wagering activities
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2024-04-22 - Chapter 139, Acts, Regular Session, 2024 [HB4700 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2024-HB4700-Enrolled.html
WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2024 REGULAR SESSION
ENROLLED
House Bill 4700
By Delegates Fluharty, Winzenreid, Cannon, and Hornbuckle
[Passed March 8, 2024; in effect ninety days from passage.]
AN ACT to amend and reenact §29-22D-4 and §29-22D-15 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to banning certain persons from sport wagering activities; directing the Lottery Commission to propose a rule for legislative approval specifying reasons for which patrons of sports gaming may be banned from engaging in sports betting; setting forth a non-inclusive list of reasons for which a patron may be banned; requiring the rule contain a procedure for lodging complaints against patrons and for investigation of complaints; and allowing the Commission or an operator to continue banning persons from certain areas of a gaming facility until the Commission promulgates the rule.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 22D. WEST VIRGINIA LOTTERY SPORTS WAGERING ACT.
§29-22D-4. Commission duties and powers.
(a) In addition to the duties set forth elsewhere in this article, §29-22-1 et seq., §29-22A-1 et seq., §29-22B-1 et seq., §29-22C-1 et seq., and §29-25-1 et seq. of this code, the commission may regulate sports pools and the conduct of sports wagering under this article.
(b) The commission shall examine the regulations implemented in other states where sports wagering is conducted and shall, as far as practicable, adopt a similar regulatory framework through promulgation of rules.
(c) The commission may, pursuant to §29A-1-1, et seq. and §29A-3-1, et seq. of this code, promulgate or otherwise enact any legislative, interpretive, and procedural rules the commission considers necessary for the successful implementation, administration, and enforcement of this article.
(1) Rules promulgated by the commission may include, but are not limited to, those governing the acceptance of wagers on a sports event or a series of sports events; maximum wagers which may be accepted by an operator from any one patron on any one sports event; type of wagering tickets which may be used; method of issuing tickets; method of accounting to be used by operators; types of records which shall be kept; use of credit and checks by patrons; type of system for wagering; protections for patrons placing wagers; and promotion of social responsibility, responsible gaming, and inclusion of the statement, “If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800 GAMBLER,”, in every designated area approved for sports wagering and on any mobile application or other digital platform used to place wagers.
(2) The commission shall establish minimum internal control standards (MICS) and approve minimum internal control standards proposed by licensed operators for administration of sports wagering operations, wagering equipment and systems, or other items used to conduct sports wagering, as well as maintenance of financial records and other required records.
(d) The commission shall propose a rule for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code that enumerates the reasons for which patrons of sports gaming may be banned from engaging in sports betting. The list of reasons for which patrons may be banned shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) A prior conviction under §61-2-15a of this code;
(2) A prior violation of an order of the commission; or
(3) If the commission determines that the person poses a threat to the safety of patrons or participants in a sporting event or determines that the person has engaged in a pattern of conduct of harassing a sports official, coach, or any participants.
(e) The rule shall also set forth the procedure by which complaints against patrons are lodged with and investigated by the commission. The commission shall notify a patron of the commission's intent to ban the patron from sports betting, and the patron is entitled to a hearing before the commission pursuant to §29A-5-1 et seq. of this code.
(f) The commission shall determine the eligibility of a person to hold or continue to hold a license, shall issue all licenses, and shall maintain a record of all licenses issued under this article.
(g) The commission shall levy and collect all fees, surcharges, civil penalties, and weekly tax on adjusted gross sports wagering receipts imposed by this article, and deposit all moneys into the sports wagering fund, except as otherwise provided under this article.
(h) The commission may sue to enforce any provision of this article or any rule of the commission by civil action or petition for injunctive relief.
(i) The commission may hold hearings, administer oaths, and issue subpoenas or subpoenas duces tecum: Provided, That all hearings shall be conducted pursuant to the provisions of the State Administrative Procedures Act, §29A-2-1, et seq. of this code and the Lottery Administrative Appeal Procedures, W.Va. CSR §179-2-1, et seq.
(j) The commission may exercise any other powers necessary to effectuate the provisions of this article and the rules of the commission.
§29-22D-15. Authorization of sports wagering in this state; requirements.
(a) An operator shall accept wagers on sports events and other events authorized under this article from persons physically present in a licensed gaming facility where authorized sports wagering occurs, or from persons not physically present who wager by means of electronic devices. A person placing a wager shall be at least 21 years of age.
(b) An operator may accept wagers from an individual physically located within this state using a mobile or other digital platform or a sports wagering device, approved by the commission, through the patron’s sports wagering account.
(c) An operator may accept wagers from an individual physically located in a state or jurisdiction with which the commission has entered into a sports wagering agreement using a mobile or other digital platform or a sports wagering device through the patron’s sports wagering account, so long as the device or platform is approved by the commission and all other requirements of the agreement are satisfied.
(d) Until such time as a rule proposed by the commission is approved for promulgation by the Legislature, the commission or operator may ban any person from entering a gaming area of a gaming facility conducting sports wagering or the grounds of a gaming facility licensed under this article or from participating in the play or operation of any West Virginia Lottery sports wagering. A log of all excluded players shall be kept by the commission and each licensee, and no player on the commission’s exclusion list or the licensed operator’s exclusion list shall wager on any West Virginia Lottery sports wagering under this article.
(e) The commission shall promulgate rules implementing the provisions of §29-22D-15(a) of this code by interpretive rule and minimum internal control standards.
(f) The commission shall, when a federal law is enacted or repealed or when a federal court decision is issued that permits a state to regulate sports wagering, publish a notice in the State Register notifying the public of the enactment or repeal of federal law or of the issuance of the court decision. The commission may not conduct sports wagering in this state until the notice prescribed in this subsection is published in the State Register.
(g) A licensed gaming facility employee may not place a wager on any sports wagering at the employer’s facility or through any other mobile application or digital platform of his or her employer.
(h) A commission employee may not knowingly wager or be paid any prize from any wager placed at any licensed gaming facility with West Virginia Lottery sports wagering within this state or at any facility outside this jurisdiction that is directly or indirectly owned or operated by a sports wagering licensee.
The Clerk of the House of Delegates and the Clerk of the Senate hereby certify that the foregoing bill is correctly enrolled.
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Clerk of the House of Delegates
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Clerk of the Senate
Originated in the House of Delegates.
In effect ninety days from passage.
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Speaker of the House of Delegates
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President of the Senate
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The within is ................................................ this the...........................................
Day of ..........................................................................................................., 2024.
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Governor
