18.2-340.25 - Permit required; application fee; form of application.
§ 18.2-340.25. Permit required; application fee; form of application.
A. Except as provided for in § 18.2-340.23, prior to the commencement of anycharitable game, an organization shall obtain a permit from the Department.
B. All complete applications for a permit shall be acted upon by theDepartment within 45 days from the filing thereof. Upon compliance by theapplicant with the provisions of this article, and at the discretion of theDepartment, a permit may be issued. All permits when issued shall be validfor the period specified in the permit unless it is sooner suspended orrevoked. No permit shall be valid for longer than two years. The applicationshall be a matter of public record.
All permits shall be subject to regulation by the Department to ensure thepublic safety and welfare in the operation of charitable games. The permitshall only be granted after a reasonable investigation has been conducted bythe Department. The Department may require any prospective employee, permitholder or applicant to submit to fingerprinting and to provide personaldescriptive information to be forwarded along with employee's, licensee's orapplicant's fingerprints through the Central Criminal Records Exchange to theFederal Bureau of Investigation for the purposes of obtaining criminalhistory record information regarding such prospective employee, permit holderor applicant. The Central Criminal Records Exchange upon receipt of aprospective employee, licensee or applicant record or notification that norecord exists, shall forward the report to the Commissioner of the Departmentor his designee, who shall belong to a governmental entity. However, nothingin this subsection shall be construed to require the routine fingerprintingof volunteer bingo workers.
C. In no case shall an organization receive more than one permit allowing itto conduct charitable gaming; however, nothing in this section shall beconstrued to prohibit granting special permits pursuant to § 18.2-340.27.
D. Application for a charitable gaming permit shall be made on formsprescribed by the Department and shall be accompanied by payment of the feefor processing the application.
E. Applications for renewal of permits shall be made in accordance with BoardRegulations. If a complete renewal application is received 45 days or moreprior to the expiration of the permit, the permit shall continue to beeffective until such time as the Department has taken final action.Otherwise, the permit shall expire at the end of its term.
F. The failure to meet any of the requirements of § 18.2-340.24 shall causethe automatic denial of the permit, and no organization shall conduct anycharitable gaming until the requirements are met and a permit is obtained.
(1995, c. 837; 1997, cc. 777, 838; 1999, c. 361; 2003, c. 884; 2006, cc. 211,644; 2008, cc. 387, 689.)