Welcome to Online Gambling West Virginia, your comprehensive guide to all things online gambling in the state of West Virginia! The state has had a rocky entry into regulated online gambling, but the fact that it is one of the few states that offers all the top games legally sets it apart from the rest. This site will answer all the questions you may have about online gambling in general and specific to West Virginia. From guides to playing certain games to picking the best place for you to play, our team of experts have a long history in the gaming world and pass along all their expertise to you.
West Virginia passed comprehensive online gambling laws in March 2019, allowing each of the five land-based gambling operations in the state to offer online sports betting, online casinos and online poker. The cost of licensing for each property was $250,000 initially, with a $100,000 renewal fee every 5 years. Many of the casinos immediately partnered with some of the largest names in the gambling space to be able to offer the highest quality products to residents of the state. The launch of products and channels has been staggered and has not come without controversy.
Online/Mobile Sports Betting
The doors to legalized online betting in West Virginia were flung wide open in May 2018 when the Supreme Court of the United States deemed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 to be unconstitutional. This repeal of PASPA left the decision to allow sports betting up to each state government, and many states were keen to move forward with legalization as soon as possible.
West Virginia was well-positioned to pass legislation, and while it did not take place in 2018 like it did in other states such as New Jersey and Delaware, by March 2019, the state was ready to accept applications for licenses. As mentioned, there were 5 available license, but as two of the properties are owned by the same company, there is only the potential of four online sites launching in the state.
Our page goes into the details of how the launch went in West Virginia (Spoiler Alert: Not Well), what sites are currently available and how to determine which online sportsbook is the best one for you.
Online Casinos
While it may have taken until the spring of 2019 to have legislation passed, West Virginia is one of the few states that decided to add language for online casinos into its first pass at a bill. This is great news for those who love to play slot machines or games like Blackjack and Roulette online. AS with sports betting, there are only 5 licenses available for online casino, unlike states such as New Jersey that offer their licensees multiple skins for branding.
Even with only a few sites to choose from, the differences in online casino offerings can be drastic if you know what o look for. We review all the sites that are available for West Virginia players, covering everything from which sites have the best customer service to how to make a deposit or withdrawal from the land-based casino that owns the site you choose to play with.
Online Poker
Online poker was, at one point, seemingly taking over the U.S. Poker tournaments regularly had seven-figure prize pools, and thousands of players were qualifying for land-based events around the country on all the online sites that were open for business. Unfortunately, the shuttering of those sites in the early 2010s left the industry with a big hole. That hole is slowly starting to be filled by individual states that are regulating the industry.
West Virginia, by way of the legislation that passed in 2019, became the 5th state to legalize online poker. This is excellent news for residents of the state, as it is time to dust off the poker skills and get back to the game that many have loved for years. Our online poker section will cover all the sites that will launch in West Virginia (none have launched to date), as well as giving you tips from our staff and guest experts on how to improve your game. Who knows, maybe the next WSOP Main Event Champion will come from West Virginia!
Online Horse Racing
Horse racing is a favorite sports of many West Virginians, and there are currently four tracks holding races in the state. Anyone who wants to bet on the horses can do so at one of the tracks or the several off-track betting facilities. Strangely, West Virginia law does not allow these facilities to offer internet wagering, but there are some options from outside the state that will gladly take the business.
This section of our site reviews the available online betting options for pari-mutuel betting, as well as a full understanding of why these sites are legal while in-state options do not exist. We’ll give you a primer on all the main betting options for horse racing in case you are new to the sport and are wanting to learn more.
Online Lottery Games
While the lottery is very popular in West Virginia, with many standalone jackpot draw games and access to games like Mega Millions and Powerball, there is no online version of the games available in the state. This is even more befuddling when you realize that the State Lottery is the governing body overseeing the sports betting and online casino industry.
There are some alternative options from an online ticket purchase perspective, and we outline who those companies are and how they work on our Lottery page.
Online Betting Guides
Even though the online gambling industry has been alive and well in the United Stets for over 20 years, there are still many people that, for one reason or another, haven’t played online. Perhaps you are someone who is interested in trying a new game but doesn’t want to learn in a live casino or someone who doesn’t have all the sports betting lingo down. Well, our Online Betting Guides are exactly what you need! We break everything down in a simple-to-understand format so you can quickly learn the games and practice with some free to play games at the online casino of your choice.
Online Gambling Bonuses
West Virginia players will only have a handful of options when it comes to choosing sites to bet with, but each site will have its own set of offers to entice you to make a deposit. How you use those bonuses is a critical piece of being a winning player, so we will pass along our experience to you – what bonuses to avoid, what ones to repeat over, and over, in order to make you the most profit possible.
Online Gaming FAQ:
When did online gambling become legal in West Virginia?
Online gambling became legal across the state on March 27th, 2019. This made West Virginia one of the first states to pass legislation that spread across multiple products, rather than the states that only passed sports betting bills into law.
What types of payment methods are available for online betting in West Virginia?
Well, the great news for everyone is that in a regulated environment, the payment options are plentiful! It starts with being able to fund your account in cash at one of the land-based properties. If you want to pay digitally, you can do so with your credit or debit card, or if you have a PayPal account, you can always use that. There are a whole host of e-wallet solutions as well as prepaid cards that can be used for deposits. Your best bet is to have a look on the site itself to see what options each individual operator is offering.
Are offshore gambling sites illegal in West Virginia?
Are they illegal? That depends on who you ask. Historically, a handful of online caisno and sportsbook operators have been arrested in the U.S. and successfully prosecuted for operating an online gambling site. However, the Wire Act, written in 1961, is flimsy as precedent, so for now, if an operator doesn’t step foot into the country, they aren’t likely to be charged. This means that you can indeed play at these offshore sites if you like. We do not condone this activity, though. These sites make it very difficult to get your money back if you are a winner, often stalling payments in an effort to get you to spend more money. These sites are going to become a thing of the past as legal gambling continues its way across the U.S., so it is best to stay away from them, especially with so many great regulate options in the state.
How do I know the casino games are being played fairly?
Many people have initial reservations about the integrity of online casino software. We can tell you that there is no way a vendor would jeopardize their entire business for the sake of cheating players. While that is a great response, it is more important to know that all the software vendors that are approved for use in West Virginia have to have their games certified by an independent auditing firms. These vendors are only too proud to have that certification, so it is typically posted on their home pages as well as the home pages of the casinos themselves.