In 2005, for the first time in Virginia’s history, the Governor reworked the former Charitable Gaming Commission into the new Charitable Gaming Department, and formed a regulatory Board to develop and oversee the rules under which qualified non-profit organizations operate. To this new Board Governor Warner appointed members representing all aspects of charitable gaming, including law enforcement, suppliers, non-profit organizations, and proprietors.

As stated in the 5th Enactment Clause of SB 1278, this Charitable Gaming Board must develop a detailed report that will specify what will be done and how the rules and regulations will be amended to address the issue of the percentage of Gross Receipts used by Charitable Organizations for their Charitable purposes. Since having such a report completed prior to when the 2004 General Assembly was due to convene in December of 2003 was nearly impossible, an outline of the process which would be done over a 2 year period. In the interim period of time, a series of focus group meetings are being held to gather additional information on a regional basis that will help in creating a more equitable basis when working out updated regulations to govern the Use of Proceeds and other like issues in the state regulations.

The efforts of a fine-tuned staff at the state level have assisted greatly in making Charitable Gaming a worthwhile effort for non-profit organizations in Virginia. A great deal of progress has been made in ensuring that charitable gaming continues to help charities... and there is still more work to do.