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Virginia sports betting permit bonds.
From $100.
Before the Virginia Lottery issues or reissues a sports betting permit, the permit holder must be bonded under Code of Virginia § 58.1-4032(H). The director sets the amount, and a permit holder’s bond may not exceed $5 million. Premiums cost 2% of the bond amount, $100 minimum.
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Three steps. One sitting.
The bond is one line item in a permit file that runs to dozens of exhibits — enter the amount the director set, pay, and send the original to the Lottery. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your company’s organization type and state of formation, address, a contact and business owner, years in business, the bond amount the director set, and an effective date. The form closes with a credit consent that authorizes a soft inquiry only.
Issued on payment
Pricing runs 2% of the bond amount from a $100 minimum. Most applications issue the moment you pay; amounts up to $1,000,000 can draw a short underwriter look before the executed bond generates. Above that, a specialist quotes the bond directly.
Send the original to the director
Rule 11VAC5-70-100(C) says the original bond goes to the director. The Lottery publishes no bond form of its own, and it wants a surety rated A or better that is permitted to transact business in Virginia — both are standard on our paper.
What it is and who needs it.
What the sports betting permit bond actually covers
Virginia legalized sports betting in 2020 under Article 2 of Chapter 40, Title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia. The Virginia Lottery — the same agency that runs the Commonwealth’s lottery — issues sports betting permits to operate a sports betting platform, whether an online sportsbook or one attached to a licensed Virginia casino. A permit runs three years from the date issued under § 58.1-4033(A), and renewal carries its own nonrefundable fee filed at least 60 days before expiry.
Section 58.1-4032(H) sets the bonding duty: before a permit is issued, each permit holder must either be bonded by a surety company entitled to do business in the Commonwealth, in the amount and penalty the Board prescribes by regulation, or provide other surety, a letter of credit, or a reserve satisfactory to the Director. The statute adds that the surety shall not exceed a reasonable amount. Most operators choose the bond, because a premium costs a fraction of what a letter of credit ties up in bank collateral.
The Board’s rule, 11VAC5-70-100, supplies the mechanics. The bond runs for the benefit of the Commonwealth for faithful performance of Virginia law and the sports betting regulations; it renews annually; it cannot be canceled without at least 30 days’ written notice to the director; and the director may apply it to any unpaid liability under the chapter. For a permit holder the amount may not exceed $5 million, and the director reviews the need for the bond and its amount every year — so the figure you file at issuance can move at a later review.
Keep this bond separate from two others in the same rulebook. The player-liability reserve under 11VAC5-70-140 is its own requirement, at least $500,000 and sized to what the operator owes its players; a bond can fund part of it, but that is a different instrument. Supplier and vendor bonds are capped far lower and belong to those licensees. A principal’s bond, with the director’s approval, may ride on the permit holder’s bond.
You need this bond if you are
Claims, renewal, filing, and what sets the price.
If a claim is made
A claim comes from the party the bond protects, the obligee named on the form, when the duty the bond guarantees is not met.
The surety investigates and pays a valid claim, up to the bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
The term is set on the carrier’s application; the premium covers the period shown there.
Renew before the expiry date to keep the bond in force: the license, permit or contract it backs expects continuous coverage.
How to file it
Issued on payment. Pricing runs 2% of the bond amount from a $100 minimum. Most applications issue the moment you pay; amounts up to $1,000,000 can draw a short underwriter look before the executed bond generates. Above that, a specialist quotes the bond directly.
What sets the price
The premium is 2% of the bond amount, $100 minimum: the amount the obligee sets moves the price, not your business profile.
One soft credit pull, never a hard inquiry, and it never affects your score.
Where a check runs, it decides approval; the rate is the same for everyone approved.
One application, priced as you type.
Submit the application with the amount the director set. The consent authorizes a soft inquiry only; amounts up to $1,000,000 can get a short underwriter look before issuance. Above that, a specialist quotes the bond directly.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Virginia bonds.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Permit waiting on one bond.
Pricing from $100 at a rate of 2% of the bond amount. Enter the amount the director set and send the original to the Virginia Lottery. Free until issued.