Legality
As we hinted at the beginning of this article, sports betting WV is legal in the state. In addition to retail betting, bettors can participate in any form of online sports betting bar sports where underaged kids participate. Players in WV have a myriad of sports they can wager such as football, soccer, cricket, golf, horse racing, basketball, baseball, and more.
Being aware of the laws in the United States is crucial as one wrong move may get you in a lot of trouble. West Virginia sports betting was legalized in 2018 making it one of the first US states that embraced sports wagering in the country. However, this was pending the Supreme Court’s overruling of PAPSA( The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992).
PAPSA, which was a bill restricting sports gambling to Nevada and three other US states, was deemed unconstitutional. This abolishment of this bill paved the way for casinos in several states including West Virginia to offer sports betting as part of their services. We will dive deeper into this later in this article.
There are some conditions associated with West Virginia sports betting which include:
- Bettors must not be younger than 21 years. Anything younger than 21 is considered illegal when it comes to sports wagering
- Players don’t need to reside in WV to sign-up for a betting account with sportsbooks. However, they must be in West Virginia to place wagers(they must be within WV state lines)
- Wagering on high school sports is illegal as most of the participants are underaged.
While some people may consider gambling laws in WV strict, it is a necessity. These rules and regulations are essential for customer protection as well as for checks and balances. The body responsible for overseeing WV sports gambling is the West Virginia Lottery.