Online casinos in West Virginia, USA

Online Gambling and Casinos in WV

For a very short time now, gamblers located in West Virginia can legally play at online casinos for real money. It was only recently when legislative changes were made that made West Virginia legalize online casino play. The first website to offer such games was DraftKings and it opened its virtual doors in July of 2020. This is the first of several WV casinos that currently operate under a license.
DraftKings Casino started accepting online wagers in agreement with its partner, Hollywood Casino Charles Town. This launch made West Virginia the forth US state to offer online gambling to its visitors, as well as residents. It stands right beside New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, all states where people can play on their phones and desktop.

Story about the Industry of West Virginia Casino Legislation

Soon after the opening of their first WV online casino, others started applying and obtaining licenses. This was followed by BetMGM in 2020, as well as Golden Nugget’s mobile app soon after.

West Virginia has a long path to legalized online betting. It started in 2018 when they finally authorized launch of online and retail sportsbooks. But, the partners at that time offering such betting had a dispute in 2019, causing the operations to close abruptly. This is the same time when lawmakers passed a WV Lottery Interactive Wagering Act which authorized casino gambling. This bill became law on March 27 of 2019.
Since then, the officials were prepping the betting regulations for sports. On April 29th of 2020, the West Virginia Lottery Commission finally approved some rules to govern West Virginia casinos on the Internet.

The Best Casino Bonuses in West Virginia

Regulations at an Online Casino WV

Requirements for a License

West Virginia’s laws allow for only existing land-based casinos to apply for iGaming licenses. This makes their list limited to five options only:

• Hollywood at Charles Town Races
• Mardi Gras Resort
• Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack, and Resort
• The Greenbrier Club
• Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack

Each casino West Virginia can operate up to 3 skins under a single license. This allows the companies to partner with operators from outside the state and launch inside it.
If a casino wants to obtain such a license, they must pay a fee of $100,000, which is non-refundable. Software providers who work with these sites must pay $10,000 as a fee to operate inside the state’s borders. When approved by the Commission, every casino in West Virginia is required to pay a 15% state tax on all gross online gambling revenue.

Who Regulates This?

This is all regulated and overseen by the West Virginia Lottery Commission. This is where existing companies apply to get an iGaming license.

Who Can Play?

Everyone who’s of legal age, which is 21 years old, can gamble as long as they are located within the borders of WV. This is checked by geolocation software which allows everyone of legal age to play, even if they aren’t residents of this state.

Gambling in a West Virginia Online Legal Casino

If you are currently based or live in this state, and are of legal age, you can choose between the available online casinos to sign up and play. When considering which site to select, you should check for the following information:

• Whether or not the casino is licensed and operates under the legislation of this state. This should be provided on a casino’s website. Our advice: always look for licensed casinos like Betrivers online casino, that is fully legal in WV. If not, check with the commission to see if the site you are considering holds a license. You can gamble at unlicensed sites, but this is not recommended considering that you are not eligible for assistance in case of a dispute with illegal websites.
• What banking methods they offer for both deposits and withdrawals, how fast they are, and whether or not they come with additional fees. When you gamble, you want to make sure that you can use your preferred option to deposit and withdraw winnings. You also need a site that processes payments fast, as well as is free of any additional charges.
• What games are at your disposal when you gamble on that specific site. Games are very important since this is why you are visiting a site in the first place. In addition to the game selection, make sure to check software developers.
• Whether or not you are eligible for bonuses; if yes, what the wagering requirements for those offers are. Some sites can have amazing bonuses, but if their wagering requirements are unfair, you should move on to the next choice.
• If the site has a good customer support that you can reach out when you need them.

Games You Can Find in a Casino West Virginia

WV Slot Machines

Slots are very popular with gamblers these days, so they take the majority of floor space or in this case, casino’s website. On popular sites, players can choose between hundreds of different slots from dozens providers, some more popular than others. Inside WV casinos, players can find machines including:

• Classic reel games
• Modern video slots
• 3D slots
• Jackpot or progressive machines, etc.

Table and Card Games

Right now, when you open a casino in West Virginia on a browser or an app, you’ll find a nice selection of popular table and card games and their variants. Players can scour pages to play many variants of Blackjack, online Roulette, video Poker, as well as Baccarat. They can choose between European and American Roulette, Three card Poker and Pai Gow Poker, as well as games like Mini baccarat, Ultimate Texas Hold’Em, and Let It Ride.
Some of the options that aren’t available just yet are online craps as well as live dealer games. Some sites might offer a small selection, but it’s still very limited at this point.

Mobile Apps for Casinos in WV

With such a small choice in terms of online gambling in WV at this moment, you won’t get a lot to choose from. Seeing how only 5 casinos have a license now, we can say this – all your choices are optimized for mobile use. Some of these sites have an option for players to download an app to their Android or Apple phone, but others simply optimize their pages for direct browser play. Regardless, gambling from mobile is very easy and highly optimized in this state.

Responsible Gaming in West Virginia Online Casinos

In case you have problems with licensed casinos or have a gambling problem, you can reach out to the state’s Problem Gamblers Help Network. This resource has a very easy number of 1-800-GAMBLER and has already helped many people who struggle with gambling problems. This helpline is available to both addicted gamblers and their concerned family and friends. When called, the group refers callers to one of 70 therapist working state-wide to help people beat this addiction.
To be more, there are two prominent support groups in WV that offer weekly meetings. These are GAM-ANON and Gamblers Anonymous.
And lastly, West Virginia has created a self-exclusion list. If you feel like gambling is bad for you, you can ask to be taken away the option to gamble on casino sites.