Virginia Code 18.2-340.34:2: Licensing of network bingo providers; qualification; suspension, revocation, or refusal to renew license; maintenance, production, and release of records
A. No person shall sell or offer to sell or otherwise provide access to a network bingo network to any qualified organization unless and until such person has made application for and has been issued a license by the Department. An application for license shall be made on forms prescribed by the Department and shall be accompanied by a fee in the amount of $500. Each license shall remain valid for a period of two years from the date of issuance. Application for renewal of a license shall be accompanied by a fee in the amount of $500 and shall be made on forms prescribed by the Department.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 18.2-340.34:2
- Bingo: means a specific game of chance played with (i) individual cards having randomly numbered squares ranging from one to 75, (ii) Department-approved electronic devices that display facsimiles of bingo cards and are used for the purpose of marking and monitoring players' cards as numbers are called, or (iii) Department-approved cards, in which prizes are awarded on the basis of designated numbers on such cards conforming to a predetermined pattern of numbers selected at random. See Virginia Code 18.2-340.16
- charitable gaming: includes electronic gaming authorized by this article. See Virginia Code 18.2-340.16
- Commissioner: means the Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Virginia Code 18.2-340.16
- Conduct: means the actions associated with the provision of a gaming operation during and immediately before or after the permitted activity, which may include (i) selling bingo cards or packs, electronic devices, instant bingo or pull-tab cards, or raffle tickets, (ii) calling bingo games, (iii) distributing prizes, and (iv) any other services provided by volunteer workers. See Virginia Code 18.2-340.16
- Department: means the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Virginia Code 18.2-340.16
- Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Network bingo: means a specific bingo game in which pari-mutuel play is permitted. See Virginia Code 18.2-340.16
- Network bingo provider: means a person licensed by the Department to operate network bingo. See Virginia Code 18.2-340.16
- Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
- Organization: means any one of the following:
1. See Virginia Code 18.2-340.16
- permit: means a permit issued by the Department to an organization that authorizes such organization to conduct charitable gaming, and if such organization is qualified as a social organization, electronic gaming. See Virginia Code 18.2-340.16
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
- Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
- Qualified organization: means any organization to which a valid permit has been issued by the Department to conduct charitable gaming or any organization that is exempt pursuant to § 18. See Virginia Code 18.2-340.16
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
B. The Commissioner shall have authority to prescribe by regulation reasonable criteria consistent with the provisions of this article for the licensure of network bingo providers. The Department may refuse to issue a license to any network bingo provider that has any officer, director, partner, or owner who has (i) been convicted of or pleaded nolo contendere to a felony in any state or federal court or has been convicted of any offense that, if committed in the Commonwealth, would be a felony; (ii) been convicted of or pleaded nolo contendere to a crime involving gambling; (iii) had any license, permit, certificate, or other authority related to activities defined as charitable gaming in the Commonwealth suspended or revoked in the Commonwealth or in any other jurisdiction; (iv) failed to file or been delinquent in excess of one year in the filing of any tax returns or the payment of any taxes due the Commonwealth; or (v) failed to establish a registered office or registered agent in the Commonwealth if so required by § 13.1-634 or 13.1-763.
C. The Department may suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew the license of any network bingo provider for any conduct described in subsection B or for any violation of this article or regulation of the Department. Before taking any such action, the Department shall give the network bingo provider a written statement of the grounds upon which it proposes to take such action and an opportunity to be heard. Every hearing in a contested case shall be conducted in accordance with the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.).
D. The Commissioner by regulation shall require network bingo providers to have onsite independent supervision of network bingo games as the numbers are called.
E. Each network bingo provider shall document each sale of network bingo supplies and other items incidental to the conduct of network bingo to a qualified organization on an invoice that clearly shows (i) the name and address of the qualified organization to which such supplies or items were sold; (ii) the date of the sale; (iii) the name or form and serial number of each network bingo card, the quantity of cards sold, and the price per card paid by the qualified organization; and (iv) any other information required by the Department. A legible copy of the invoice shall accompany the network bingo supplies when delivered to the qualified organization.
F. Each network bingo provider shall maintain a legible copy of each invoice required by subsection E for a period of three years from the date of sale. Each network bingo provider shall make such documents immediately available for inspection and copying to any agent or employee of the Department upon request made during normal business hours. This subsection shall not limit the right of the Department to require the production of any other documents in the possession of the network bingo provider that relate to its transactions with qualified organizations. All documents and other information of a proprietary nature furnished to the Department in accordance with this subsection shall be exempt from disclosure under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.).