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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>81045</law_id><section_number>58.1-4019.1</section_number><catch_line>License required for &amp;#8220;instant ticket&amp;#8221; games or contests</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="58.1">Taxation</unit><unit label="subtitle" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="IV">Other Sources of State Revenue</unit><unit label="chapter" level="3" order_by="1" identifier="40">Virginia Lottery Law; Sports Betting</unit><unit label="article" level="4" order_by="1" identifier="1">Powers and Duties of Virginia Lottery Board; Administration of Tickets and Prizes</unit></structure><text>
						<section><p>No person who owns or is employed by any retail establishment in the Commonwealth shall use any &#x201C;instant ticket&#x201D; <span class="dictionary">game</span> or contest for the purpose of promoting or furthering the sale of any product without first obtaining a license to do so from the <span class="dictionary">Director</span>. For the purposes of this section, an &#x201C;instant ticket&#x201D; <span class="dictionary">game</span> or contest means a <span class="dictionary">game</span> of chance played on a paper ticket or card where (i) a person may receive gifts, prizes, or gratuities and (ii) winners are determined by preprinted concealed letters, numbers, or symbols which, when exposed, reveal immediately whether the player has won a prize or entry into a prize drawing, but shall not include any &#x201C;instant ticket&#x201D; <span class="dictionary">game</span> or contest licensed by the <span class="dictionary">Department</span> of Agriculture and Consumer Services pursuant to Article 1.1:1 (&#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="State control of charitable gaming" href="/18.2-340.15/">18.2-340.15</a> et seq.) of Title 18.2. The <span class="dictionary">fact</span> that no purchase is required in <span class="dictionary">order</span> to participate shall not exclude such <span class="dictionary">game</span> or contest from the provisions of this section; however, nothing in this section shall prohibit any retail establishment from using a Virginia <span class="dictionary">lottery</span> ticket to promote or further the sale of any products except those having both a federal and state excise tax placed on them. Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall be guilty of a Class 3 <span class="dictionary">misdemeanor</span>.</p></section></text><history>1996, cc. 462, 505; 2003, c. 884; 2008, cc. 387, 689.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
