Senate Joint Resolution No. 195 (Appendix A), agreed to during the 1993 Session of the General Assembly, established a joint subcommittee to study the Commonwealth's statutes relating to bingo and raffles. The resolution directed the subcommittee to study the (i) rental fees paid to bingo facility owners, (ii) percentages of profits actually returned to charitable organizations, and (iii) bogus charities acting as fronts for illegal bingo operations. Senate Joint Resolution No. 12 (Appendix B), agreed to during the 1994 Session of the General Assembly, continued the subcommittee and directed it to determine the feasibility of (i) transferring control of bingo and raffle operations to an agency of state government and (ii) licensing charities, bingo operators and suppliers, to ensure integrity in bingo operations, uniform enforcement and regulatory consistency.

The original membership of the subcommittee continued to serve in the subcommittee's second year of study and was comprised of nine members: three members of the Senate appointed by the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections; four members of the House of Delegates appointed by the Speaker of the House; and two members appointed by the Governor, one of whom is a representative of local government and one a citizen of the Commonwealth at large.