W. Va. Code R. § 179-10-6

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 36, September 6, 2024

Section 179-10-6 - Interactive gaming system requirements

6.1. Prior to operating an interactive gaming system pursuant to W.Va. Code §§ 29-22E-1 et seq., all equipment and software used in conjunction with the operation shall be submitted to an independent testing laboratory approved by the Commission or a testing laboratory operated in an accredited jurisdiction approved by the Commission.

6.2. All wagers on interactive gaming authorized by W.Va. Code §§ 29-22E-1 et seq., shall be initiated, received, and otherwise placed within the boundaries of the State of West Virginia unless otherwise permitted by the Commission in accordance with applicable federal and state laws. Consistent with the intent of the United States Congress as articulated in the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) set forth in 31 U.S.C. §§ 5361 through 5367, the intermediate routing of electronic data relating to a lawful intrastate wager in West Virginia shall not be a factor in determining the location or locations in which such wagers are initiated, received, or otherwise placed.

6.3. An interactive gaming system submission to a testing laboratory shall contain a description of the risk management framework, including but not limited to:

6.3.1. User access controls for all personnel;

6.3.2. Information regarding segregation of duties;

6.3.3. Information regarding automated risk-management procedures;

6.3.4. Information regarding fraud detection;

6.3.5. Controls ensuring regulatory compliance;

6.3.6. Description of Anti-Money Laundering compliance standards;

6.3.7. Description of all software applications that comprise the system;

6.3.8. Description of all types of games to be offered by the system;

6.3.9. Description of all integrated third party systems; and

6.3.10. Description of the method to prevent past posting.

6.4. An interactive gaming system shall maintain all transactional wagering data for a period of five years.

6.5. An interactive gaming system shall prevent past posting of wagers and the voiding or cancellation of wagers after the outcome of a game is determined.

6.6. In the event a patron has a pending interactive gaming wager and then self-excludes, the operator's internal controls shall govern any cancellation or refund of the wager.

6.7. An interactive gaming system shall, at least once every 24 hours, perform an authentication process on all software used to offer, record, and process wagers to ensure there have been no unauthorized system modifications. In the event of an authentication failure, the operator's Information Systems Officer (ISO) and the Director, or his or her designee, must be notified within 24 hours. The results of all authentication attempts shall be recorded by the system and maintained for a minimum period of 90 days.

6.8. An interactive gaming operator or MSP shall provide the Director, or his or her designee, with access to wagering transactions and related data as deemed necessary and in a manner approved by the Commission.

6.9. An interactive gaming system shall utilize sufficient security to ensure patron access is appropriately limited to the account holder. Unless otherwise authorized by the Commission, security measures shall include, at a minimum, the following:

6.9.1. A Username;

6.9.2. Password of sufficient length and complexity to ensure its effectiveness;

6.9.3. An option for users to choose "strong authentication" login protection upon account creation; and

6.9.4. Electronic notification to the patron's registered e-mail address, cellular phone, or other device each time an interactive gaming account is accessed with the option for a patron to opt out of such notification.

6.10. An interactive gaming system shall be designed with a methodology approved by the Commission to ensure secure communications between a patron device and the interactive gaming system.

6.11. An interactive gaming system shall be designed to detect and report:

6.11.1. Suspicious behavior, such as cheating, theft, embezzlement, collusion, money laundering, or any other illegal activities; and

6.11.2. Excluded persons or any person who is prohibited from entering a casino or a casino simulcasting facility.

6.12. Patron account access information shall not be permanently stored on patron devices used with an interactive gaming system. Such information shall be masked after entry and encrypted immediately after entry is complete. Patron account access information may be temporarily stored or buffered during patron entry, provided that the buffer is automatically cleared as follows:

6.12.1. After the patron confirms that the account access entry is complete; or

6.12.2. If the patron fails to complete the account access entry within five minutes.

6.13. Unless otherwise approved by the Commission, an interactive gaming system shall associate a patron's account with a single patron device during each patron session.

6.14. Each patron session shall have a unique identifier assigned by the interactive gaming system.

6.15. The interactive gaming system shall immediately terminate a patron session whenever:

6.15.1. Required by the Commission or interactive gaming operator or MSP; or

6.15.2. The patron ends a session.

6.16. Interactive gaming systems shall employ a mechanism that can detect and prevent any patron initiated wagering or withdrawal activity that would result in a negative balance of an interactive gaming account.

6.17. Interactive gaming systems shall disable a patron's account after three failed login attempts and require strong authentication to recover or reset a password or username.

6.18. Interactive gaming systems shall employ a mechanism that places an interactive gaming account in a suspended mode:

6.18.1. When requested by the patron for a specified period of time, which shall not be less than 72 hours;

6.18.2. When required by the Commission;

6.18.3. Upon a determination that a patron is a prohibited interactive gaming participant; or

6.18.4. When initiated by an interactive gaming operator or MSP who has evidence that indicates:

6.18.4.a. Illegal activity;

6.18.4.b. A negative patron account balance;

6.18.4.c. Failed ACH deposit attempts as provided for in subsection 7.5.2.; or

6.18.4.d. A violation of the terms and conditions.

6.19. When an interactive gaming account is in a suspended status, the interactive gaming system shall:

6.19.1. Prevent the patron from placing wagers;

6.19.2. Prevent the patron from depositing funds;

6.19.3. Prevent the patron from withdrawing funds from his or her interactive gaming account, unless the suspended status was initiated by the patron;

6.19.4. Prevent the patron from making changes to his or her interactive gaming account;

6.19.5. Prevent the removal of the interactive gaming account from the interactive gaming system; and

6.19.6. Prominently display to the patron that the account is in a suspended status, and notify the patron of the restrictions placed on the account, as well as any further course of action needed to remove the suspended status.

6.20. Unless the suspension was a result of a patron's self-exclusion, an interactive gaming operator or MSP shall also notify the interactive gaming account holder via electronic mail, regular mail, or other method approved by the Commission, whenever his or her account has been closed or placed in a suspended status. Such notification shall include the restrictions placed on the account and any further course of action needed to remove the restriction.

6.21. A suspended account may be restored:

6.21.1. Upon expiration of the time period established by the patron;

6.21.2. When permission is granted by the Director;

6.21.3. When the patron is no longer a prohibited person; or

6.21.4. When the interactive gaming operator or MSP has lifted the suspended status.

6.22. An interactive gaming system shall be capable of allowing a patron to establish responsible gaming limits. Any decrease in these limits shall be effective no later than the patron's next login. Any increase in these limits shall become effective only after expiration of the time period for the previous limit. The responsible gaming limits shall include:

6.22.1. A deposit limit offered on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis, which specifies the maximum amount of money a patron may deposit into his or her interactive gaming account during a particular period of time;

6.22.2. A spend limit offered on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis, which specifies the maximum amount of patron deposits that may be put at risk during a particular period of time; and

6.22.3. A time-based limit offered on a daily basis, which specifies the maximum amount of time, measured hourly from the patron's login to log off, that a patron may spend playing on an interactive gaming system, provided that if the time-based limit is reached, a patron shall be permitted to complete any round of play, or active or prepaid tournament.

6.23. A monthly report listing the total sum removed from patron accounts shall be filed with the Commission by each interactive gaming operator or its MSP. An interactive gaming operator or its MSP shall not remove or withdraw any funds from a patron's interactive gaming account unless:

6.23.1. The patron has a confirmed chargeback, in which case the removal of funds shall be limited to the amount of the chargeback;

6.23.2. The patron has engaged in cheating, collusion, chip dumping, or other illegal gaming activity;

6.23.3. By order of a court of competent jurisdiction; or

6.23.4. As otherwise approved by the Commission.

6.24. An interactive gaming system shall provide a patron with the ability to view the game outcome and subsequent account balance changes from the previous game, including a game completed subsequent to an outage such as a network disconnection or patron device malfunction.

6.25. Unless otherwise approved by the Commission, a record of all bonus and promotional i-Gaming offers related to interactive gaming shall be maintained in an electronic file that is readily available to the Commission. All bonus and promotional i-Gaming offers shall be stated in clear and unambiguous terms and shall be readily available to the patron after the offer is accepted and prior to completion of participation. Offer terms and the record of all offers shall include at a minimum:

6.25.1. The date and time presented;

6.25.2. The date and time the offer is active and expires;

6.25.3. Patron eligibility, including any limitations on patron participation;

6.25.4. Any restriction on withdrawals of funds;

6.25.5. Wagering requirements and limitations by type of game;

6.25.6. The order in which funds are used for wagers;

6.25.7. Eligible games; and

6.25.8. Rules regarding cancellation.

6.26. An interactive gaming system shall provide a clear and conspicuous method for a patron to cancel his or her participation in a bonus or promotional i-Gaming offer that utilizes restricted gaming credits. If the patron elects to proceed with cancellation, unrestricted funds remaining in a patron's interactive gaming account shall be returned according to the terms and conditions.

6.27. Once a patron has met the terms of a bonus or promotional i-Gaming offer, the interactive gaming operator or MSP shall not cap or limit winnings earned while participating in the offer.

6.28. Manual adjustments to interactive gaming data by an interactive gaming operator or MSP shall only be made by a software application approved by the Commission.

6.29. When a patron's lifetime deposits exceed the gaming deposit threshold established by the Commission, the interactive gaming system shall immediately prevent any interactive game play until the patron acknowledges the following:

6.29.1. The patron has met the gaming deposit threshold as established by the Commission;

6.29.2. The patron has the capability to establish responsible gaming limits or close his or her account; and

6.29.3 The availability of 1-800-GAMBLER.

6.30. The acknowledgement prescribed in 6.29.2 and 6.29.3 above shall be required on an annual basis thereafter.

6.31. Interactive gaming operators or MSP's may utilize celebrity or other players to participate in peer-to-peer games for advertising or publicity purposes. Such players may have their accounts funded in whole or in part by an interactive gaming operator or MSP. An interactive gaming operator or MSP may pay a fee to the celebrity player. If a celebrity player is utilized and the celebrity player generates winnings that the interactive gaming operator or MSP does not permit the celebrity player to retain, such winnings shall be included as interactive gaming gross revenue in a manner approved by the Director.

W. Va. Code R. § 179-10-6