SECTION 58.1-4019.1. License required for "instant ticket" games or contests  


No person who owns or is employed by any retail establishment in the Commonwealth shall use any "instant ticket" game or contest for the purpose of promoting or furthering the sale of any product without first obtaining a license to do so from the Director. For the purposes of this section, an "instant ticket" game or contest means a game 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 "instant ticket" game or contest licensed by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services pursuant to Article 1.1:1 (§ 18.2-340.15 et seq.) of Title 18.2. The fact that no purchase is required in order to participate shall not exclude such game or contest from the provisions of this section; however, nothing in this section shall prohibit any retail establishment from using a Virginia lottery 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 misdemeanor.

1996, cc. 18.2-340.15 , 18.2-340.15 ; 2003, c. 18.2-340.15 ; 2008, cc. 18.2-340.15 , 18.2-340.15 .