Online Gambling in
West Virginia
Just as popular as "Take Me Home, Country Roads", sport is a huge part of the Mountaineers' way of life. After a shaky start, West Virginia sports betting is back on its feet and accepting wagers online.
Just as popular as "Take Me Home, Country Roads", sport is a huge part of the Mountaineers' way of life. After a shaky start, West Virginia sports betting is back on its feet and accepting wagers online.
Legal online gambling options: Online Sports Betting and Online Casinos
Online sports betting: Legal ✅
Online casinos & poker: Legal ✅
Land-based casinos & sportsbooks: Legal ✅
Remote sign-up: Yes ✅
Legal online gambling since: March 9, 2018 (Online Casinos: March 27th, 2019)
Legal WV gambling age: 21+
West Virginia may not home a major pro team but the state’s two college sports teams attract plenty of attention in The Mountain State. Likewise nearby sports teams in bordering states, notably PA and OH.
Whatever your game, whoever your team, you can wager on your favorites at WV online sportsbooks. DraftKings and FanDuel are underway accepting wagers with William Hill set to soon follow.
This section covers what you want to know about WV online gambling, in brief. Read on for the whole picture.
Yes. Online gambling in West Virginia became legal in March 2019.
Yes, it’s perfectly legal to bet on sports in West Virginia. The bill became law in March 2018 and the industry launched, officially, in August 2018 becoming the fifth state in the US to do so.
Yes. As of December 2019, the online market consists of two mobile sports betting apps: FanDuel and DraftKings, both of which are completely free to sign up with. DraftKings reward all new players with a free $25 bet just for creating an account.
The minimum age you can be is 21.
Not at the moment. As it stands, the beginning of 2021 has been mooted as a potential launch date. The West Virginia Lottery, responsible for finalizing the rules of the industry has until June 2020 to put forward its final regulations. Only once this is confirmed will we have a firm date for online casinos.
Being a resident is not a requirement. It’s possible to wager online should you be taking a vacation in WV or simply passing through. All that’s required of a bettor is to be in state lines at the time a bet is placed.
Though the choice of sportsbooks in WV amounts to only two right now, you’ll be pleased to know FanDuel and DraftKings represent two of the best online sportsbooks in the US. Picking one above the other is entirely subjective and depends on your taste. If we were pushed to choose one, it’d be FanDuel for its impressive user interface - get in touch and tell us which one you prefer.
The West Virginia Lottery Interactive Wagering Act officially became law on March 27, 2019. From that point on, online gambling in WV has been a regulated industry. This means only licensed and reputable sportsbooks can operate legally.
This was due to the state’s only sports betting app - at the time - suspending operations. BetLucky stopped taking wagers after a dispute between Delaware North (the owner of Wheeling Island and Mardi Gras casinos) and Miomni Gaming, providers of the online gaming provider BetLucky used. As it was the only active betting app in WV, the entire industry ground to a halt.
The West Virginia Lottery is responsible for overseeing all gambling in the state.
And so the duel between DraftKings and FanDuel continues! If rivalling each other in the sports betting arenas of New Jersey and Pennsylvania wasn’t enough, the daily fantasy sparring partners are locking horns in the Mountain State too. DraftKings, so far, hold the edge in terms of mobile handle since the two launched in August.
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Despite the lack of a professional sports team, West Virginia became the fifth state to offer legal sports betting in August 2018 following Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey and Mississippi.
However, an unfortunate six-month hiatus threatened to derail sports betting in WV before it had even begun.
Today, the market is nowhere near the level of NJ and PA in terms of handle or profit. But with DraftKings and FanDuel having laid down roots and William Hill nearing an online expansion of its retail operations at Eldorado’s Mountaineer casino, West Virginia is steadily on the rise.
Read on below for everything that has happened in between:
Online gambling in West Virginia has been far from straightforward.
Initially, things were fast-moving. Less than three months after PASPA was struck down and the sports betting ban lifted, the first legal wagers were being accepted at Hollywood Casino as of August 30.
While the framework included provisions for mobile wagering, it was clear operators were not yet ready to follow up with a swift launch of the mobile industry. Bet Lucky did manage to do so however late 2018, courtesy of Delaware North and Miomni, suppliers of the online platform.
Owing to legal disputes between the pair, though, the BetLucky app, along with the two retail sports betting locations owned by Delaware North - Wheeling Island and Mardi Gras casinos - suspended operations in March 2019.
As the sole operator at the time, this had a huge impact financially on WV sports betting. The state took a big hit in terms of lost revenue from the much famed, March Madness in particular.
While the three entities remain on the sidelines, West Virginia sports betting did return in August 2018 after a five-month hiatus. The arrival of FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook in August 2019 signalled the rebirth of WV online sports betting, accessible via an online sportsbook and sports betting app.
Once you’ve decided between the two superb apps, you’ll need to create a sports betting account.
To do this, the sportsbook needs you to provide basic details such as name, address, social security number etc, all of which is common practice across the states.
To get going with your account set up, follow these 4 simple steps:
Need to know legislation for players:
Regulations for sportsbooks:
There are three active sportsbooks in West Virginia currently:
Retail sportsbook is run by FanDuel who operate its online sportsbook and betting app through Greenbrier license
The first legal sportsbook to open in WV, Hollywood allows DraftKings to operate its online and mobile offering via its licence. Note, DraftKings has no live sportsbook here.
A global sports betting name across Europe and US, William Hill runs retail operations at the Mountaineer but are yet to launch online. An app and online sportsbook will surely follow.
Owned by Delaware North, the two casinos above are currently without sports betting following the well-publicised dispute and subsequent termination of the working relationship between Miomni and Delaware. It remains to be seen if they dip back into sports betting after their first attempt.
It was on. Then it was off. But after a six-month hiatus, online sports betting returned to the state in late August in the best possible fashion.
Two of the best performing US sportsbooks DraftKings and FanDuel launched within two days of one another in late August to officially kick-start online gambling in West Virginia.
The pair, having built their respective empires in daily fantasy sports, are now head-to-head in a third state, New Jersey and Pennsylvania also home to the newest sports betting rivalry.
iOS: download directly from the App Store
Android users: download directly from DraftKings desktop sportsbook
iOS: download directly from the App Store
Android users: download specific FanDuel WV app from FanDuel.com
In life, rarely is anything free. While it’s possible to browse odds and compile bets at an online sportsbook without paying a dime, to place a real money wager and possibly win big bucks, you will need to deposit some cash.
Let’s check out the most common deposit types in a bit more detail:
The payment method the majority of bettors prefer to use and therefore the most common at online sportsbooks and casinos in West Virginia.
An e-wallet is a good alternative if you’re not so keen on providing a sportsbook with your card details directly. All you have to do is link your credit card, debit card or bank account to your PayPal account. The beauty of such a service is how easy, quick and safe the process is. In what is essentially PayPal serving as a middle man between your bank and online sportsbook, the chances of personal details being compromised are almost eliminated.
What it says on the tin! Wire money directly from your bank account to your online betting account. Transfer information will be provided by the online sportsbook or casino. Depending on your bank you should be able can initiate a transfer online. Otherwise, you’ll need to visit your local branch.
In the eyes of an online sportsbook or casino, an e-check works similarly to a standard, paper check. With that in mind, it won’t be the fastest way of getting money in your account. Expect the process to take between 1 and 2 days.
If you’re old school and prefer to perform money transactions with hard cash, you can head to a local 7-Eleven, CVS Pharmacy or Family Dollar Store and top your betting account ‘over the counter’. Simply get a pay code from the online sportsbook/casino and take it to an authorised PayNearMe location. There, the cashier will scan the code and complete the deposit.
No teams, no problem!
Believe it or not, there isn’t one single major league team in the Mountain State.
But it’s not all about the top-level y’ know. The talent on show and excitement generated can be every bit as good elsewhere. And that is certainly the case here.
With football the number one sport in WV, locals are known to get behind university teams West Virginia Mountaineers and Marshall Thundering Herd come gameday.
However, there's plenty of folks still in need of their NFL fix which means the likes of Washington Football Team, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals, among others, receive significant support in WV too.
Aside from football, West Virginians are keen for baseball with these minor league teams in Charleston, Granville and Princeton backed considerably:
Once upon a time, the choice of a sports bettor was limited to a handful of options. Wagers comprised choosing a winner or a pools made up of a selection of teams. Maybe the odd futures wager.
Nowadays, the options are endless - you can bet on almost anything and everything. From the serious to the ridiculous, there is a bet. Pre-game, in-game, post-game there are wagers to be placed and money to be made.
There has never been a better time to broaden your betting
Many wagers are specific to a sport. Also, being creatures of habit, we all favor certain types of bets we’re comfortable with. But there has never been a better time to broaden your betting.
The most common bet you can place since you’re betting on the winner of a game/contest.
With the result of the game irrelevant, this bet essentially asks the bettor how many points/runs/goals are scored in a game. The bettor must bet either Over or Under the line set by the sportsbook.
A wager placed prior to a competition starting. Betting on the overall winner of the Super Bowl tends to be a common team Futures wager. Who will be named MVP come the end of the season is a popular Players Future.
This bet combines multiple individual bets into one bet/card and needs all bets to be successful for the whole bet to win. Typically, a parlay features a minimum of two selections or a maximum of fifteen. The more bets included, the higher the odds and the bigger the payout naturally. One of the more impressive parlay wins of 2019 came in NJ where an online bet of $20 on a 15 game parlay comprising a mix of NCAA and NBA games brought winnings of $178,000! Quite the profit!
This steps away from traditional wagers and betting on the outcome of a game. The majority of prop bets focus on an individual player or an event itself within the game. How many touchdowns a certain player will score is a common Player Prop bet, as is calling the winner of the coin toss. Another example would be a Game Prop where you could bet on the length of the national anthem in the Super Bowl. The number of TD’s scored by the home side is a common team prop bet. It’s possible to tweet some sportsbooks for odds on an event not among the options listed.
Betting on two teams of contrasting quality can offer less-than-appealing odds. A spread acts as an equalizer and helps to address the difference in quality by giving the underdog a headstart. For the purpose of the bet, a set amount of points is taken from the favorite and given to the underdog, prior to the game starting. Odds are given on whether the favorite can overturn a points deficit - typically referred to as covering the spread - and whether the underdog can hold on to the advantage. In turn, this produces better odds on both sides.
Similar to a parlay, a teaser also comprises a selection of two or more wagers as part of one bet. Like a parlay, all bets must also be correct for the overall wager to win. A teaser differs in the sense a bettor may alter a point spread or over/under totals in order to make a wager easier to win. The sport being bet on dictates the point difference which can range from 4 and 10 points.
After a few bumps in the road, West Virginia sports betting is now picking up pace. But has the state always been in support of the industry and gambling in general?
Well, since 1994 at least. Casino gambling in West Virginia has been available since then in the state’s established five casinos, along with horse and dog racing and a variety of traditional casino games.
In regards to sports betting in West Virginia, the Mountain State stood firm alongside New Jersey in their attempts to legalize sports betting. The state introduced a bill in 2017 in support of the idea, enacting legislation in 2018.
The WV Lottery Commission, regulators of the industry, drafted rules for casinos to launch online in time for the 2018-19 NFL. While this target was achieved with a full launch on September 1 2018, online betting in West Virginia has suspended not long after.
A dispute between casino operator Delaware North and sports betting provider Miomni led to the state’s sole sports betting app to cease operations in March 2019.
Online gambling in West Virginia remained in a state of flux for well over six months before, in August, FanDuel and DraftKings launched within two days of one another.