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West Virginia Governor Jim Justice let the March 24 deadline pass for vetoing the West Virginia Lottery Interactive Wagering Act, thus making the state the fifth in the U.S. to legalize online casinos and/or poker, following New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Nevada. The state House passed the measure, H 2934, in February and the state Senate amended and approved the bill. The House accepted the changes and sent it to Justice.
Customers age 21 or older can play online poker and casino games within state lines. The state’s five casinos may apply for one of the five available permits at $250,000 each, renewable for $100,000 every five years. Platform and service management licenses will cost $100,000 and supplier licenses will cost $10,000. Online gambling revenue will be taxed at 15 percent.
Eilers & Krejcik Gaming estimated first-year revenue from online gambling would be about $11.6 million. But generating revenue was not the only motivation, said state Del. Jason Barrett. “Right now, online poker is illegal and it’s being done overseas and there are certainly some concerns there with the integrity of the games as well as making sure players are paid because it’s currently completely unregulated being offshore,” he said.
Observers said the most aggressive timeline would place an online gambling launch at 2020. The state allows three skins for each of the five casinos that offer Sports Betting; these deals could expand to include online gambling, observers said. Currently Sports Betting partnerships are the Greenbrier with FanDuel Sportsbook; Hollywood and Mountaineer with William Hill US; Mardi Gras and Wheeling Island, both owned and operated by Delaware North Companies, with Miomni.
But a dispute between Miomni and Entergaming has led to the closing of the sports books at Mardi Gras and Wheeling Island since March 6. The companies disagree whether Miomni has the right to use certain intellectual property. Miomni terminated its agreement with Entergaming in February.
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice let the March 24 deadline pass for vetoing the West Virginia Lottery Interactive Wagering Act, thus making the state the fifth in the U.S. to legalize online casinos and/or poker, following New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Nevada. The state House passed the measure, H 2934, in February and the state Senate amended and approved the bill. The House accepted the changes and sent it to Justice.
Customers age 21 or older can play online poker and casino games within state lines. The state’s five casinos may apply for one of the five available permits at $250,000 each, renewable for $100,000 every five years. Platform and service management licenses will cost $100,000 and supplier licenses will cost $10,000. Online gambling revenue will be taxed at 15 percent.
Eilers & Krejcik Gaming estimated first-year revenue from online gambling would be about $11.6 million. But generating revenue was not the only motivation, said state Del. Jason Barrett. “Right now, online poker is illegal and it’s being done overseas and there are certainly some concerns there with the integrity of the games as well as making sure players are paid because it’s currently completely unregulated being offshore,” he said.
Observers said the most aggressive timeline would place an online gambling launch at 2020. The state allows three skins for each of the five casinos that offer Sports Betting; these deals could expand to include online gambling, observers said. Currently Sports Betting partnerships are the Greenbrier with FanDuel Sportsbook; Hollywood and Mountaineer with William Hill US; Mardi Gras and Wheeling Island, both owned and operated by Delaware North Companies, with Miomni.
But a dispute between Miomni and Entergaming has led to the closing of the sports books at Mardi Gras and Wheeling Island since March 6. The companies disagree whether Miomni has the right to use certain intellectual property. Miomni terminated its agreement with Entergaming in February.
