West Virginia Launches Online Gambling Bid

Having rolled out regulated sports betting within the state, West Virginia lawmakers are now bent on extending their fortune by working on a piece of legislation that should approve online casinos and online poker.

The House Bill 2178 was filed last week by Representatives, Shawn Fluharty and Joe Canestraro. The new legislation – if ed – will amend the 1931 Code of West Virginia and allow online gambling for people 21 and above.

The sports betting market was officially very encouraging.

For the Greater Good of Community

As declared in the bill, substantial benefits could be delivered by the liberalization of online table games and lottery…

…and those would not be limited only to the state’s racing and agricultural facilities, as noted. The bill is justified by the fact that “developments in technology and recent legal decisions have created an opportunity to legalize interactive poker as a means to further enhance and complement the benefits delivered by casino gaming and licensed facilities to or for the benefit of the communities in which they operate.”

As per the piece of legislation, only those operators who have land-based venues in West Virginia would be allowed to apply for iGaming licenses.

That leaves Eldorado Resorts’ Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort, Penn National’s Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, Delaware North’s Mardi Gras and Wheeling Island in litigation.

A Very Strict Set of Rules

The regulation of online gambling would be handed to West Virginia Lottery Commission…

…The regulator will require each applicant to pay a $50,000 fee in order to obtain a license. There will be a 14% gross gaming revenue tax imposed on all iGaming businesses. The bill states that online gaming offerings must be operated and conducted as a business under the original name and brand of the licensee.

The legal piece predicts heavy fines for unlicensed gambling – $150,000 in financial penalties and a year in prison could end up being the verdict against first-time offenders. Second-time offenders can get up to three years behind bars as well as a $300,000 slap on the wrist.

The bill will be ed to House Finance Committee after it has been reviewed by House Judiciary Committee.

Despite the fact that sports betting legislation – Professional and Amateur Sports Protection – was ed in May last year with a certain ease, iGaming remains a bit of a taboo in West Virginia as previous iterations of this bill have failed to gain .

Source:

“West Virginia lawmakers launch new bid to regulate iGaming”, igamingbusiness.com, January 11, 2019.