West Virginia Online Sports Betting

Here at Play-westvirginia.com we give you the low down with all the complete, most up-to-date and all the latest information on sports betting in West Virginia, including;

• The legal status of sports betting online in West Virginia.
• Legal age requirements and how online sports betting
• Online sports betting reviews and sportsbook
• Sports betting odds explained.
• Sports betting lines explained.
• Sports betting info on all the available sports types, and;
• Other types of online betting available.

When did West Virginia Online Sports Betting Become Legal

• Gambling on sports (online) – Fully legal and licensed for West Virginia sports bettors since 27 December 2018, West Virginian online sports betting sites become potentially available after the U.S. Supreme Court found on the side of the States in spring of 2018 and handed back control of sports betting to all U.S. States for self-determination. West Virginia was prepared having passed laws allowing for sports betting two months ahead of the Supreme Court decision.
• Gambling on sports (land-based) – In addition to being able to gamble at the best online sports betting sites, West Virginians have been able to gamble at land-based sportsbooks in the Mountain State since August 30 2018.
• For more detailed information on West Virginia’s Sports Betting Laws, please refer to the ‘Online Sports Betting Laws’ section below.

What Are the Age Requirements to Bet on Sports in West Virginia

The legal age to bet on the top sports betting sites in West Virginia is 21 years-of-age, and 18 years-of-age for those interested in online horse racing betting.

How Does Online Sports Betting Work?

Getting started with sports betting online in West Virginia is a very easy and completely hassle-free experience;

• Be physically located in West Virginia in order to register and place online sports bets. You don’t need to be a resident of West Virginia; however, you must be physically located in the Mountain State when you place your wagers. West Virginian online sportsbooks are protected by the latest in sophisticated geolocation technology.
• Choose your preferred sportsbook from our range of reviewed and recommended online sportsbooks.
• Register with the sportsbook to get started and deposit money into your account (most sportsbooks offer sign-up bonus money or bonus bets) – we’ll provide you with the most up-to-date information in our sportsbook reviews.
• Log-in and browse through the different sports and betting markets, and pay particular attention to what types of bets you can make on each sport (parlay betting, moneyline betting, pointspread betting, over/under betting etc). Big money can be made on differing betting types, however, be certain to understand the requirements of each.

Ever wondered what does over/under mean in sports betting? We explain the different betting types;

• Pointspread –A projected betting line of points that a team is either expected to lose, or win by.
• Over/Under – The Over/Under is a wager over or under the anticipated combined score of both teams in a single game.
• Moneyline– A simple bet to win or lose without pointspread included in the wager.
• First Half or Second Half – Spread and Total – Pointspread or Over/Under bets placed on first half or second half results only, not the full game.
• Futures – Wager on which team will win the next Super Bowl, Stanley Cup or World Series, Soccer World Cup etc (in-season or out-of-season) – all are considered ‘futures bets’.
• Parlays – Pick multiple teams correctly to win a parlay bet. Each chosen team need to win in order for the parlay to payoff, and the odds multiply as each ‘leg’ of the bet is successful.

Online Sportsbooks

As at March 2019, there is only the one legal sportsbook in the Mountain State, however, more are the way, expected to go live in West Virginia over the coming months.

Believe it or not, legal online sportsbooks are difficult to come by.

We advise West Virginia’s residents and visitors to stick to our reviewed and researched online sportsbooks that are legal for West Virginia’s residents and visitors.

Consequently, online sports bettors in the State of West Virginia are advised to solely participate in LEGAL online sportsbooks. Online players in the Mountain State should steer clear of using off-shore sports betting sites, which are still illegal in the eyes of the law in West Virginia. Participation in using the foreign off-shore sites can potentially result in fines and possibly even jail time. Better safe than sorry, stick with a recommended and reviewed legal West Virginia sportsbook.

Online Sports Betting Laws

Legal Sports Betting is a recent innovation for West Virginians, and 2018 was the landmark year that changed the sports betting landscape in the Mountain State.

See timeline below for the evolution of West Virginian Sports Betting Law;

• March 2018 – Governor Jim Justice passed sports betting legalization bill SB 415 into West Virginian law. The law legalized sports betting (both online and land-based) in West Virginia bound by a condition that the U.S. Supreme Court would eventually overturn the PASPA Act that prohibited states from legalizing sports betting
• May 14 2018 – U.S. Supreme Court hands each state the right to make their own sports betting choices without Federal impediment by ruling the PASPA Act against the U.S. constitution.
• August 30 2018 – Five land-based sportsbooks begin legal operation in West Virginia.
• December 27 2018 – West Virginia’s first legal online sportsbook begins accepting legal wagers in the Mountain State.
• The Mountain State’s law now allows for legal online West Virginian sportsbooks (more are expected to be launched soon) offering a diverse wide range of betting types across a diverse range of sports, including NASCAR, MMA, NHL, NFL, eSports, MLB, NBA, MLS and European Soccer, NCAA football and Basketball, and much more.

What Makes an Online Sports Betting site legal to operate in West Virginia?

West Virginia’s sports betting legalization bill, SB 415, passed as state law in March of 2018, allowing each of West Virginia’s 5 land-based casinos to also offer online sports betting under the following regulations administered by the West Virginia Lottery Commission;

• Each of West Virginia’s 5 land-based casino can offer 3 individually-branded and licensed online sportsbooks.
• A maximum of 15 sportsbooks will be licensed for use in the state.
• Bettors must be physically located within the state lines of West Virginia in order to place legal sports wagers, and;
• Online sports betting is restricted to West Virginian residents or visitors over the age of 21.
• Land-based casinos may partner with large online sports books such as FanDuel, William Hill or DraftKings in order to offer professional expertise and site infrastructure.
• Casinos with interim approval are allowed to start online operations for a period of 270 days from the date of the Lottery director’s approval.

How to Identify WV Licensed Online Sports Betting Operators

As mentioned above, any West Virginian online casino must be aligned with one of the 5 legal and licensed West Virginian bricks-and-mortar casinos and carry the logo of the West Virginia Lottery (similar to the below), complete with a live link.

What sports can I bet on in West Virginia?

Sports bettors in West Virginia can find action available on all the major North American sports including professional leagues like the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, collegiate NCAA basketball and football plus less mainstream sports like soccer, NASCAR, golf, tennis, MMA and much more. If you can imagine the sport, chances are very good that there will be an available market on it in West Virginia.

As the most populous state in the USA that does not have a professional sports team in any major league, West Virginia’s population are huge sports fans.

Football Betting

NFL gambling, college football (NCAA) betting and wagering on Canada’s CFL are readily available to West Virginia’s online sports bettors.

As a football nursery, West Virginia is home to numerous national championship high school teams. Great college teams like the famous West Virginia Mountaineers and the Thundering Herd of Marshall University are also much beloved by West Virginians.

Without an NFL team of its own, its no surprise then that big college bowl games like;

• The Rose Bowl
• The Cotton Bowl and;
• The Sugar Bowl

are extremely popular among West Virginia’s football fans and sports bettors.

Basketball Betting

NCAA College Basketball options such as March Madness and the following Final 4 National NCAA Championship playoffs are enormously popular among West Virginia’s sports bettors given the huge number of nationally-ranked college teams like Virginia, Kentucky, Cincinnati and Duke all within a short drive.

NBA betting markets are also available, however, without a professional team based in the Mountain State and the many great University teams nearby, college basketball is widely followed and the most popular with West Virginia’s sports bettors.

Baseball Betting

Online betting on Major League Baseball (MLB) is readily available in West Virginia.

While West Virginia is football heartland, World Series betting is always popular in the Mountain State and with many colleges in the state area and nearby, D1 (Division 1) NCAA baseball is widely followed by the state’s sports bettors.

Besides Sports Betting What Else Can I Bet on?

Online Casino Games & Online Poker are still not legal at this time in West Virginia.

The topic is scheduled for debate soon in the State Legislature with bill H 2178, West Virginia’s pending online casino legislation.

In the meantime;

• Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) and;
• Online Horse Racing Betting

are also both legal for West Virginia’s online players above the age of 18 for those looking for further online betting options in the Mountain State.