Bordering populous and sports-crazed states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Kentucky, West Virginia is viewed as one with unlimited potential when it comes to sports gambling. West Virginia is known as a college sports hotbed, with a wide variety of pro sports allegiances mostly aligned with its borders. You must be 21 years of age or older to bet on sports in the state of West Virginia. You can bet either in person at traditional brick-and-mortar casino sportsbooks or online and mobile as long as you are within the state lines. The West Virginia Lottery Commission oversees all sports gambling in the state of West Virginia. The following in-person on-site casinos offer sports gambling in the state of West Virginia with their partners listed in parenthesis: Hollywood Casino at Charles Town (DraftKings), The Greenbriar (Fan Duel), Mardi Gras (IGT), Wheeling Island (IGT), Mountaineer Casino (William Hill).
There are no restrictions for betting on esports or college teams within the state of West Virginia. West Virginia is a college football and basketball state with two primary allegiances led largely by the University of West Virginia Mountaineers programs. Also popular is the Thundering Herd of Marshall. In the state of West Virginia, you can wager on pro and college basketball, pro and college football, pro hockey, pro baseball, soccer, auto racing, boxing, mixed martial arts, and golf. Among the sports wagering options available in West Virginia are straight bets, over-under totals, money line bets, prop wagers, futures, parlays, and teasers.
Several years before the United States Supreme Court cleared the decks for sports gambling, the state of West Virginia was already ahead of the game as politicians had already commissioned serious studies on the topic. Additionally, the state of West Virginia was strongly allied with the state of New Jersey in fighting against sports wagering restrictions before the landmark Supreme Court decision that opened up the country. West Virginia was fearless in opposing the major professional sports leagues that were battling to keep sports wagering illegal everywhere except in Nevada. To its credit, the Mountaineer State proved to be an instrumental leader in the landscape that we all enjoy today.
On March 26, 2021, it was reported that efforts to expand West Virginia sports gambling are not going to succeed in the immediate future. Sports betting has been an unqualified success in the Mountaineer State, and small businesses want a piece of the action. There are a limited amount of “skins” tied to racetracks and casinos in the state. But the tracks and the casinos don’t want to give away slices of the pie to smaller operators. To many, the proposed legislation for expansion was not well crafted. Senator Mike Maroney sponsored the original bill and may try again with a better version in the future. His focus on the original bill was to help small businesses that suffered from COVID-19 hardships. In the future, some expansion of sports gambling in West Virginia is almost a certainty. That is because it has been so wildly successful since its rollout.
Online sports betting and the app are easy to use for action in the state of West Virginia. It begins with the fact that you do not have to register in person as long as you are age 21 or older and not on a self-exclusion list. Also, you can’t be affiliated with any sports that you plan to bet on.
Registration can be done online, and it’s a breeze. You’ll need to provide some basic personal information. Next, download the app, which is available for iOS or Android. After you download the app and log in, fund your account, and you are set to start gambling, just as long as your bets are made within the West Virginia state lines.
As you shop the different sportsbooks available, do yourself a favor and check out the different bonuses offered. You’ll want to take full advantage of West Virginia Sportsbooks’ fantastic offers to new and existing clients. These bonuses are among the best offered anywhere.
State of West Virginia Sports Betting Timeline
Dec. 20, 2023 — WV sports betting handle hit $56.4 million in November, up 18% from October.
Nov. 20, 2023 — Fanatics Sportsbook officially launched in West Virginia, replacing PointsBet. The app also contains a WV casino offering for users.
Nov. 14, 2023 — ESPN Bet launched in West Virginia. The new sportsbook is replacing Barstool Sportsbook in 17 states.
Oct. 25, 2023 — WV sports betting handle hit $44.4 million in September, an 85.7% increase from August but a 10.8% decrease year-over-year.
Sept. 1, 2023 — Following the initial completion of the sale of PointsBet’s US assets to Fanatics, PointsBet has rebranded to “PointsBet, a Fanatics experience” in West Virginia and seven other states.