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HB1527 • 2026

Sports betting; exception on NCAA Division I sports.

<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 58.1-4037, 58.1-4038, 58.1-4039 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 2 of Chapter 40 of Title 58.1 a section numbered 58.1-4049, relating to sports betting; NCAA Division I sports.</p>

Education Taxes
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
McGuire
Last action
2026-02-18
Official status
Failed
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official status label indicates that this bill is enacted, but the effective date is contingent upon further legislation establishing a Virginia Gaming Commission or similar agency.

Sports Betting Law for NCAA Division I Sports

This law allows betting on Virginia college sports teams participating in NCAA Division I competitions and sets up a tax to fund athletic programs.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows people to bet on Virginia college sports teams playing in NCAA Division I games.
  • Taxes permit holders at 50% for bets placed on NCAA Division I sports played by Virginia colleges and universities.
  • Creates the NCAA Division I Sports Betting Fund, which gets all tax money from these bets.
  • Uses this fund to support athletic programs of Virginia's NCAA Division I schools.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who want to bet on college sports in Virginia.
  • Virginia colleges and universities with teams in NCAA Division I competitions.
  • The state government, which collects taxes and manages the new fund.

Terms To Know

NCAA Division I
A level of competition for college sports teams that is considered very high quality.
Permit holder
Someone who has permission to take bets from people.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law only starts working after another law sets up a Virginia Gaming Commission.
  • It does not say how much money will be in the fund or which schools get it first.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-18 House

    Left in Committee Education

  2. 2026-02-18 House

    Left in Committee General Laws

  3. 2026-02-02 House

    Offered by Delegate Member (unanimous consent to introduce by voice vote)

  4. 2026-01-29 House

    Unanimous consent to introduce

  5. 2026-01-29 House

    Presented and ordered printed 26105946D

  6. 2026-01-29 General Laws

    Referred to Committee on General Laws

Official Summary Text

Sports betting; NCAA Division I sports.
Creates an exception to the prohibition on placing or accepting bets on Virginia college sports by allowing such bets to be placed or accepted on Virginia colleges participating in an NCAA Division I competition for a given sport. The bill also imposes a tax of 50 percent on permit holders for bets placed on NCAA Division I sports played at Virginia colleges and universities and directs the Virginia Lottery to allocate 100 percent of such tax revenue to the NCAA Division I Sports Betting Fund, created in the bill, for the purpose of supporting NCAA Division I college and university athletic programs in the Commonwealth. The bill's effective date is contingent upon the enactment of legislation by the General Assembly that establishes a Virginia Gaming Commission or other similar agency for the purposes of overseeing legal forms of gaming in the Commonwealth.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
A BILL to amend and reenact §§
58.1-4037
,
58.1-4038
,
58.1-4039
of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 2 of Chapter 40 of Title 58.1 a section numbered
58.1-4049
, relating to sports betting; NCAA Division I sports.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§
58.1-4037
,
58.1-4038
,
58.1-4039
of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Article 2 of Chapter 40 of Title 58.1 a section numbered
58.1-4049
as follows:

§
58.1-4037
. Taxation.

A.
There
Except as provided in subsection B, there
shall be imposed a tax of 15 percent on a permit holder's adjusted gross revenue.

B.
On the gross revenue generated by a permit holder on bets placed on
NCAA Division I sports
played at Virginia colleges
and universities
, there shall be imposed a tax of 50 percent.

C.
The tax imposed pursuant to this section is due monthly to the Department, and the permit holder shall remit it on or before the twentieth day of the next succeeding calendar month. If the permit holder's accounting necessitates corrections to a previously remitted tax, the permit holder shall document such corrections when it pays the following month's taxes.

C.
D.
If the permit holder's adjusted gross revenue for a month is a negative number, the permit holder may carry over the negative amount to a return filed for a subsequent month and deduct such amount from its tax liability for such month, provided that such amount shall not be carried over and deducted against tax liability in any month that is more than 12 months later than the month in which such amount was accrued.

§
58.1-4038
. Distribution of tax revenue.

A. The Department shall allocate
2.5
:

1.
Five
percent of the tax revenue collected pursuant to
subsection A of
§
58.1-4037
to the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund established pursuant to §
37.2-314.2
.
; and

B. The Department shall allocate the

2. The

remaining
97.5
95
percent of the tax revenue collected pursuant to
subsection A of
§
58.1-4037
to the general fund.

B. The Department shall allocate
100
percent of the tax revenue collected pursuant to subsection B of §
58.1-4037
to
the
NCAA Division I Sports Betting Fund established pursuant to §
58.1-4049
.

§
58.1-4039
. Events on which betting is prohibited; penalty.

A. 1. No person shall place or accept a bet on youth sports.

2. No person shall place or accept a proposition bet on college sports.

3. No person shall place or accept a bet on Virginia college sports
, except
for Virginia colleges
and universities
participating in
an
NCAA Division I competition for a given sport
.

B. 1. A sports governing body may notify the Department that it desires to restrict, limit, or prohibit sports betting on its sporting events by providing notice in accordance with requirements prescribed by the Director. A sports governing body also may request to restrict the types of bets that may be offered. Notwithstanding §
58.1-4030
, for purposes of this section, "sports governing body" includes any organization that is not headquartered in the United States and that otherwise meets the definition of "sports governing body."

2. For any request made pursuant to subdivision 1, the requester shall bear the burden of establishing to the satisfaction of the Director that the relevant betting or other activity poses a significant and unreasonable integrity risk. The Director shall seek input from affected permit holders before making a determination on such request.

3. If the Director denies a request made pursuant to subdivision 1, the Director shall give the requester notice and the right to be heard and offer proof in opposition to such determination in accordance with regulations established by the Board. If the Director grants a request, the Board shall promulgate by regulation such restrictions, limitations, or prohibitions as may be requested.

4. A permit holder shall not offer or take any bets in violation of regulations promulgated by the Board pursuant to this subsection.

C. The prohibitions in subdivisions A 1 and A 3 shall be limited to the single game or match in which a youth sports or Virginia college sports team is a participant. The prohibitions shall not be construed to prohibit betting on other games in a tournament or multigame event in which a youth sports or Virginia college sports team participates, so long as such other games do not have a participant that is a youth sports or Virginia college sports team.

D. Any person convicted of violating this section is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

§
58.1-4049
. NCAA Division I Sports Betting Fund.

There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the NCAA Division I Sports Betting Fund, referred to in this section as "the Fund." The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. All funds appropriated for such purpose and any gifts, donations, grants, bequests, and other funds received on its behalf shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the Fund. Interest earned on moneys in the Fund shall remain in the Fund and be credited to it. Any moneys remaining in the Fund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Moneys in the Fund shall be used solely for the purposes of
supporting NCAA Division I college and university athletic programs in the Commonw
ealth. Disbursements from the Fund shall be made directly to such college and universit
y athletic programs in proportion to the amount of money such programs generate for the Fund.
Expenditures and disbursements from the Fund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the Comptroller upon written request signed by
Director
.

2. That the provisions of this act shall become effective only upon enactment of legislation by the General Assembly that establishes a Virginia Gaming Commission or other similar agency for the purposes of overseeing legal forms of gaming in the Commonwealth, at which time the provisions of this act shall become effective in accordance with the provisions of such legislation.