Last Updated: 10 February, 2025
Ever since 2018, sports bettors have been able to sing the line “Take me home, West Virginia,” as the Mountain State was one of the first to offer online sports betting. Since 2018, the state has become home to five retail sportsbooks and eight online sportsbooks.
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Is online sports betting legal in West Virginia? | Yes |
Is in-person sports betting legal? | Yes |
Is daily fantasy sports legal? | Yes |
Is betting on college sports legal? | Yes |
Is horse racing betting legal? | Yes (online & in-person) |
Is greyhound betting legal? | No |
Is political betting legal? | No |
Is eSports betting legal? | Yes |
There are no professional sports teams in West Virginia, which leaves the West Virginia Mountaineers as the primary team for fans across most sports. Mountaineers fans can wager on their favorite team through the state's sports betting legislation, as there are no betting restrictions for professional and collegiate sports in WV.
Bettors more into eSports are also in luck, as the state legalized betting on the market in April 2022 through HB 4826. Other legal gambling-related markets in the Mountain States include daily fantasy sports apps and the ability to bet on horse racing in person or online.
Before PASPA was overturned, West Virginia was in hot pursuit of signing a sports betting bill into law. Delegate Shawn Fluharty introduced a sports betting bill in 2017 and then reintroduced that same bill, HB 2751, the following year. Despite his strong efforts, a bill titled SB 415 was the one that made it through both the Senate and House.
This bill received no action from the Justice of WV but still passed without a signature or veto. This gave way to online sports betting in December 2018, just a few months after retail betting had already been launched.
Sports bettors in West Virginia have been basking in gambling paradise since then. By passing SB 415, The Mountain State established a simple sports betting market through the five existing casinos before this bill was passed.
To enter the market in the Mountain State, online operators were required to partner with one of these five casinos that were granted a sports betting license. These operators could ultimately be sharing a retail partner, but in total, the state will allow up to 15 online skins to enter the market.
While each retail location could partner with three online operators, lawmakers in WV still felt that expanding the market could make it even better. This resulted in an attempt to take sports betting licenses away from the five casinos, but unsurprisingly, the casinos detested this motion, and this attempt by lawmakers was unsuccessful.
In total, entering 2025, there are currently eight mobile betting apps available for bettors in WV. These apps include Betly, Caesars, BetRivers, ESPN Bet, and more.
Sportsbook app | Launch date |
---|---|
Fanatics Sportsbook | November 16, 2023 |
ESPN Bet | November 14, 2023 |
Betly | August 1, 2023 |
BetRivers | June 8, 2022 |
Caesars Sportsbook | August 4, 2021 |
BetMGM | August 27, 2019 |
DraftKings | August 26, 2019 |
FanDuel | August 26, 2019 |
Sportsbook | Details |
---|---|
Golden Nugget | After being acquired by DraftKings, the Golden Nugget Sportsbook app was shut down in multiple states, leaving just the online casino and retail sportsbook in WV. |
The ability to place a legal sports wager in West Virginia is not strictly limited to residents. Anyone who happens to be passing through the Mountain State and is within state lines can place a bet. Additionally, a bettor must be at least 21 to legally place a wager online or at the casino.
Residents of West Virginia or bettors who happen to be passing through are also not required to be on-site at one of the state's five casinos to create a mobile betting account with one of their partnered online operators. Remote registration is fully available to all bettors of legal gambling age.
Another facet of the state's sports betting scene is the tax rate. When a bettor’s winnings exceed $5,000, they are subject to a 6.5% tax rate on the state level and the typical 24% federal tax rate. Of course, if a bettor wants to gamble in other ways outside of sports betting, they can access online casinos, online poker, and the state lottery, all regulated by the West Virginia Lottery.
Are online casinos legal in West Virginia? | Yes |
Are retail casinos legal? | Yes |
Are social sportsbooks legal? | Yes |
Are sweepstakes/social casinos legal? | Yes, social & sweepstakes casinos are legal |
Is online poker legal? | Yes |
Is the lottery legal? | Yes |
The launch date of sports betting in West Virginia? | August 30, 2018 |
How many legal sports betting apps are there in WV? | 8 |
How many legal retail betting sites are there in WV? | 5 |
Is remote registration allowed? | Yes |
Legal age for sports betting in West Virginia? | 21+ |
West Virginia's tax rate for betting/gambling winnings | 3%-6.5% |
Who regulates sports betting in West Virginia? | West Virginia Lottery |
February 7, 2025: With a 2-5 record over their last seven games, the West Virginia Mountaineers are set to host Utah as (-7.5) point favorites.
January 24, 2025: West Virginia has opened as a (+1.5) road underdog to Kansas State after losing three of their last five games.
January 2, 2025: After beating Kansas on the road, the West Virginia Mountaineers are now (+5000) to reach the Final Four.
December 11, 2024: West Virginia will play Memphis in their bowl game on December 17th. The Mountaineers are (+3) point underdogs.
December 3, 2024: The West Virginia Mountaineers have fired head coach Neil Brown. Offensive coordinator Chad Scott will be the interim coach for WVU in their bowl game.
November 26, 2024: To close out their regular season, the West Virginia Mountaineers will head to Texas Tech, where they are (+3.5) point underdogs.
November 19, 2024: With a chance to become bowl eligible, the West Virginia Mountaineers will host UCF this weekend as (+3) point underdogs.
November 18, 2024: Legendz social sports betting and casino gaming platform launches in West Virginia and 42 other states, offering free play, high RTP, and daily rewards. Open to players 18+, it features props, parlays, and real prize redemptions.
West Virginia’s five commercial casinos are the only locations in the entire state that were given the ability to apply for a sports betting license when SB 415 was passed in 2018. Each of these casinos had been in business long before the state was able to get sports betting legislation passed.
Out of the five, The Greenbrier is the most exclusive, as customers must either stay in the hotel on the premises or be a member of their club to access their sportsbook, which FanDuel runs.
Retail Sportsbook | Location |
---|---|
Mardi Gras Casino & Resort | 1 Greyhound Dr, Cross Lanes |
Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack | 1 S Stone St, Wheeling |
The Casino Club at the Greenbrier | 101 W Main St, White Sulphur Springs |
Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races | 750 Hollywood Dr, Charles Town |
Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort | 1420 Mountaineer Cir, New Cumberland |
West Virginia residents do not have to travel far to find another location where they can place a legal sports wager. All five of West Virginia’s neighboring states offer a mix of retail and online wagering, most of which can be done on the same sports betting apps available in WV.
To find out what specific sportsbooks are active in each of West Virginia’s surrounding states, click on their name in the box underneath this section.
State | Online sports betting | Retail sports betting | DFS | Horse Race betting |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kentucky | Legal | Illegal | Legal | Legal |
Maryland | Legal | Legal | Legal | Legal |
Ohio | Legal | Legal | Legal | Legal |
Pennsylvania | Legal | Legal | Legal | Legal |
Virginia | Legal | Legal | Legal | Legal |
West Virginia operates its licensing system similarly to many states, with sports betting legalized. The five casinos in the state are the only organizations that can apply for a license. These casinos can partner with up to three online operators through their licenses.
Each license has a $250,000 fee up front and lasts five years. When those five years are up, the renewal fee is $100,000. All operators in the state are also subject to a tax rate of 10%, which is considered average compared to the rest of the market.
For the first five years of legalized sports betting, West Virginia's yearly numbers for handle, revenue, and tax income continued to increase annually. However, in 2023, the total handle declined 17% year-over-year, leading to close to an 8% drop in both sportsbook revenue and tax income. Luckily for the state, the 2024 calendar year brought new record annual figures for WV in revenue and tax income, even with the total yearly betting handle still dragging behind the top levels of 2021 and 2022.
With a strong mix of mobile betting apps and retail locations, the betting market in the Mountain State is set for sustained success for years to come, even if the most rapid years of growth in the betting market might be behind.
West Virginia sports betting record months:
Sports betting handle: November 2021 ($88,190,136)
Revenue: December 2022 ($8,060,617)
Tax income: December 2022 ($806,062)
Total betting handle: $48,529,771
Mobile betting handle: $44,413,537
Retail betting handle: $4,116,234
Winnings paid to players: $44,952,346
Hold: 7.37%
Voided wagers: $52,639
Gross revenue: $3,577,425
Adjusted taxable revenue: $3,524,786
Tax revenue for the state: $352,479
Reported by the West Virginia Lottery.
The Greenbrier (Fanduel & BetMGM): Handle: $30.3m, Revenue: $4.0m
Hollywood Casino at Charles Town (DraftKings, Fanatics Sportsbook, & ESPN BET): Handle: $26.6m, Revenue: $3.2m
Mountaineer Casino (Caesars & BetRivers): Handle: $3.6m, Revenue: $250,041
Mardi Gras (Betly): Handle: $575,761, Revenue: $64,772
Report | Total handle | Mobile handle | Adjusted revenue | Taxes |
---|---|---|---|---|
December 2024 | $48,529,771 | $44,413,537 | $3,524,786 | $352,479 |
December 2023 | $61,363,321 | $54,825,913 | $6,923,869 | $588,529 |
YoY change | Down 20.91% | Down 18.99% | Down 49.09% | Down 40.11% |
The monthly sports betting handle, revenue, and VW's tax income from retail and online wagering are presented in the table below. The percentage figure in brackets indicates how such numbers have evolved compared to the previous month.
Month | Handle (MoM) | Revenue (MoM) | Tax income |
---|---|---|---|
Jan. 2025 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
2025 Total YTD | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Month | Handle (MoM) | Adjusted revenue (MoM) | Tax income |
---|---|---|---|
Dec. 2024 | $48,529,771 (-28.47%) | $3,524,786 (-55.94%) | $352,479 |
Nov. 2024 | $67,844,346 (34.88%) | $8,000,805 (75.45%) | $800,081 |
Oct. 2024 | $50,299,986 (8.44%) | $4,560,213 (-35.89%) | $456,021 |
Sept. 2024 | $46,385,866 (47.50%) | $7,113,550 (61.49%) | $604,652 |
Aug. 2024 | $31,448,426 (50.60%) | $4,404,834 (59.50%) | $374,411 |
Jul. 2024 | $20,881,964 (-37.61%) | $2,761,663 (-30.44%) | $234,741 |
Jun. 2024 | $33,470,458 (10.27%) | $3,969,962 (15.37%) | $337,447 |
May 2024 | $30,352,182 (-11.85%) | $3,441,033 (-3.10%) | $292,488 |
Apr. 2024 | $34,430,692 (-33.94%) | $3,551,227 (-24.63%) | $301,854 |
Mar. 2024 | $52,122,666 (34.33%) | $4,711,512 (25.85%) | $400,479 |
Feb. 2024 | $38,802,415 (-16.41%) | $3,743,786 (-37.86%) | $318,222 |
Jan. 2024 | $46,418,382 (-24.36%) | $6,025,132 (-12.98%) | $512,136 |
2024 Total | $500,987,154 | $55,808,503 | $4,985,011 |
Year | Handle (YoY) | Revenue (YoY) | Tax income |
---|---|---|---|
2025 YTD | N/A | N/A | N/A |
2024 | $500,987,154 (4.04%) | $55,808,503 (17.06%) | $4,985,011 (23.02%) |
2023 | $481,548,250 (-17.10%) | $47,674,568 (-7.78%) | $4,052,338 (-7.78%) |
2022 | $580,847,914 (6.67%) | $51,695,290 (13.71%) | $4,394,100 (13.71%) |
2021 | $544,509,148 (38.73%) | $45,463,826 (71.85%) | $3,864,425 (71.85%) |
2020 | $392,488,754 (73.65%) | $26,455,519 (38.20%) | $2,248,718 (38.20%) |
2019 | $226,027,131 (386.86%) | $19,142,375 (192.34%) | $1,627,103 (192.34%) |
2018 | $46,425,862 | $6,548,009 | $556,581 |
TOTALS | $2,772,834,213 | $252,788,090 | $21,728,276 |
Bettors in West Virginia currently have access to eight mobile betting apps and five retail betting facilities. In addition to those options, residents also have access to a range of DFS apps and racebooks.
Sports betting officially became legal in West Virginia in August of 2018. As of February 2025, the state's sportsbooks have made over $250m in revenue from $2.7bn worth of placed wagers, resulting in more than $21m in tax income for WV.
With no professional sports teams located in WV, the West Virginia Mountaineer is the most popular mascot in the state.
Back in 2008, the West Virginia Mountaineers football team was 10-1, and all they needed was one win to advance to the National Championship, but instead, they were upset by a 4-7 Pitt Panthers team.