W. Va. Code R. § 179-10-7

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section 179-10-7 - Patron Wagers

7.1. Prior to engaging in interactive gaming, a patron shall establish an interactive gaming account. Casino key employees and occupational licensees and employees of any management service provider or supplier, shall not be permitted to establish an interactive gaming account, with and are prohibited from wagering on, any interactive gaming system operated by the casino with which they are employed or provide services. Commission employees shall not be permitted to wager on any interactive gaming system authorized in the State of West Virginia and shall not be permitted to establish an interactive gaming account with the exception of accounts used for testing purposes. All testing accounts for West Virginia Lottery employees must be approved by the Director. The Director reserves the right to prohibit the acceptance of wagers, order the cancellation of wagers, and require refunds on any interactive game for which wagering would be contrary to the public policies of the State of West Virginia.

7.2. In order to establish an interactive gaming account, an interactive gaming operator or its MSP shall:

7.2.1. Create an electronic patron file, which, at a minimum, shall include:

7.2.1.a. The patron's legal name;

7.2.1.b. The patron's date of birth;

7.2.1.c. The entire or last four digits of the patron's Social Security number, if voluntarily provided or the equivalent for a foreign patron such as a passport or taxpayer identification number;

7.2.1.d. The patron's interactive account number;

7.2.1.e. The patron's residential address (a post office box is not acceptable);

7.2.1.f. The patron's electronic mail address;

7.2.1.g. The patron's telephone number;

7.2.1.h. Any other information collected from the patron used to verify his or her identity;

7.2.1.i. The method used to verify the patron's identity; and

7.2.1.j. The date of verification.

7.2.2. Encrypt all information contained in an electronic patron file including the following:

7.2.2.a. The patron's Social Security number or the equivalent for a foreign patron such as a passport or taxpayer identification number;

7.2.2.b. The patron's password and/or personal identification number or PIN; and

7.2.2.c. Any credit card numbers, bank account numbers, or other personal financial information.

7.2.3. Verify the patron's identity in accordance with methodology for remote multi-sourced authentication, which may include third party and governmental databases, as approved by the Commission;

7.2.4. Require the patron to establish a password or other access security feature as approved by the Commission and advise the patron of the ability to utilize "strong authentication" login protection;

7.2.5. Verify that the patron is 21 years of age, not self-excluded, on an exclusion list, or otherwise prohibited from participation in interactive gaming;

7.2.6. Record the patron's acceptance of the interactive gaming operator's or MSP's terms and conditions to participate in interactive gaming;

7.2.7. Record the patron's certification that the information provided to the operator or MSP by the patron who registered is accurate;

7.2.8. Record the patron's acknowledgement that the legal age for interactive gaming is 21years of age or older and that he or she is prohibited from allowing any other person to access or use his or her interactive gaming account; and

7.2.9. Notify the patron of the establishment of the account via electronic mail or regular mail.

7.3. A patron shall have only one interactive gaming account for each interactive gaming MSP. Each interactive gaming account shall be:

7.3.1. Non-transferable;

7.3.2. Unique to the patron who establishes the account; and

7.3.3. Distinct from any other account number that the patron may have established with the operator.

7.4. A patron's interactive gaming account may be funded through the use of:

7.4.1. A patron's deposit account;

7.4.2. A patron's credit or debit card;

7.4.3. A patron's deposit of cash, gaming chips, or slot tokens at a cashiering location approved by the Commission;

7.4.4. A patron's reloadable prepaid card, which has been verified as being issued to the patron and is non-transferable;

7.4.5. Cash complementaries, promotional credits, or bonus credits;

7.4.6. Winnings;

7.4.7. Adjustments made by the Operator and/or MSP with documented notification to the patron;

7.4.8. ACH transfer, provided that the operator has security measures and controls to prevent ACH fraud pursuant to 7.5 below; or

7.4.9. Any other means approved by the Director.

7.5. A failed ACH deposit attempt shall not be considered fraudulent if the patron has successfully deposited funds via an ACH transfer on a previous occasion with no outstanding chargebacks. Otherwise, the operator shall:

7.5.1. Temporarily block the patron's account for investigation of fraud after five consecutive failed ACH deposit attempts within a 10 minute time period. If there is no evidence of fraud, the block may be removed; and

7.5.2. Suspend the patron's account after five additional consecutive failed ACH deposit attempts within a 10-minute period.

7.6. Prior to any withdrawal, if a patron used a credit or debit card to fund an interactive gaming account, within the preceding ninety (90) days, any remaining balance in the account up to the amount of the deposit shall be refunded to the patron's credit or debit card account used to fund the interactive gaming account provided that a credit or debit card issuer permits the return of a withdrawal from an interactive gaming account funded by the credit or debit card of the issuer.

7.7. Funds may be withdrawn from a patron's interactive gaming account for the following reasons:

7.7.1. The funding of game play;

7.7.2. A cash-out, regardless of the deposit method used, at the cashier's cage;

7.7.3. A cash-out transfer to a patron's deposit account;

7.7.4. A cash-out transfer to a patron's reloadable prepaid cash card, which has been verified as being issued to the patron and is non-transferable;

7.7.5. Adjustments made by the interactive gaming operator or MSP with documented notification to the patron;

7.7.6. A cash-out transfer directly to the patron's individual account with a bank or other financial institution (banking account) provided that the licensee verifies the validity of the account with the financial institution; or

7.7.7. Any other means approved by the Director.

7.8. An interactive gaming operator or MSP shall not permit a patron to transfer funds to another patron.

7.9. All adjustments to patron accounts, for amounts of $500.00 or under, shall be periodically reviewed by supervisory personnel as set forth in the licensee's internal controls. All other adjustments shall be authorized by supervisory personnel prior to being entered.

7.10. Interactive gaming systems shall provide an account statement with account details to a patron on demand, which shall include detailed account activity for at least the six months preceding 24 hours prior to the request. In addition, an interactive gaming system shall, upon request, be capable of providing a summary statement of all patron activity during the past year. Information to be provided on the summary statement shall include, at a minimum, the following:

7.10.1. Deposits to the interactive gaming account;

7.10.2. Withdrawals from the interactive gaming account;

7.10.3. Win or loss statistics;

7.10.4. Beginning and ending account balances; and

7.10.5. Self-imposed responsible gaming limits history, if applicable.

7.11. An operator shall maintain a West Virginia bank account separate from all other operating accounts to ensure the security of funds held in patron interactive gaming accounts. The balance maintained in this account shall be greater than or equal to the sum of the daily ending cashable balance of all patron interactive gaming accounts, funds on game, and pending withdrawals. An operator shall have unfettered access to all patron interactive gaming account and transaction data to ensure the amount held in its independent account is sufficient. If an interactive gaming operator offers both sports wagering and interactive gaming and share a wallet, the interactive gaming operator may use one West Virginia Bank account to cover all patron liability for sports wagering and interactive gaming. The casino controller or his or her designee shall file a monthly attestation with the Commission that the funds have been safeguarded pursuant to this section.

7.12. Patron funds held in an interactive gaming account shall not be automatically transferred by an operator or MSP, nor shall an operator or MSP be permitted to require a patron to transfer funds from his or her interactive gaming account in order to circumvent the requirements of 7.11 above.

7.13. An operator shall periodically re-verify a patron's identification upon reasonable suspicion that the patron's identification has been compromised.

7.14. An interactive gaming system shall provide a conspicuous and readily accessible method for a patron to close his or her account through an account management or similar page. Any balance remaining in a patron's interactive gaming account closed by a patron shall be refunded pursuant to the licensee's internal controls.

7.15. An interactive gaming account shall be considered a dormant account if there is no patron initiated activity for a period of sixteen (16) months. The interactive gaming operator or MSP must comply with W.Va. Code Chapter 36, Article 8 of the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act of West Virginia in the closing and refunding of the account balance.

W. Va. Code R. § 179-10-7