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West Virginia Betting

Sports betting in West Virginia

Over 1.7 million people reside in West Virginia, making it one of the less populous states in the US. When you compare the population of people living in WV to that of other populous states like Pennsylvania, you’ll notice a huge difference. Pennsylvania’s population is at least 7.5 times greater than that of West Virginia. But why are we talking about this?

WV is one of the US states that legalized online and retail sports betting. Bettors can wager on their favorite sports teams anytime, any day. With WA’s population, you’d expect a lesser number of participants in WV sports gambling. This affects some aspects like WV sports betting licensing fee, tax, and more.

Table of Contents

Betting sites

How to place bets

Bonuses

Popular sports

Depositing and withdrawing

Advantages

Legality

History

Faq

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Best online betting sites in West Virginia

Just like in other parts of the world, sports are much cherished in the US with many people having undying feelings for their teams. While there are no professional sports teams in West Virginia, residents still pledge their loyalty to teams in neighboring states. Sports wagering is growing vastly not just in West Virginia but in the US at large, and the signs are very much promising.

In this article, we’ll discuss WV online sports betting in detail. We’ll discuss the history of sports betting in WV, the laws on sports gambling in the state, betting options available to gamblers, payment methods available to players, and more. If you’re a sports gambling novice, we’ve also got you covered as we’ve included a guide on how to place a bet in the state. Let’s proceed.

When you intend to bet on sports in West Virginia, it is very important to do your homework and only choose trusted bookmakers. Before placing a wager, make sure the bookmaker you choose suits your preferences. There are a total of nine active online sportsbooks that you can consider for your wagers in different sporting events.

Since there are limited options, choosing a WV bookmaker is fairly easy. Here are the main factors to take into account while selecting sports wagering applications. WV betting image

Customer service

Customer service is always the first criterion to consider when choosing West Virginia sports betting applications. Choose a bookmaker that offers excellent customer service. You should probably stay away from an app if many users have had bad experiences with it. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Bonuses and promo

Using promotional offers to incentivize players is a practice that WV sportsbooks share with other states. When a casino routinely offers bonuses to its users, that's a healthy indication. Put quality first though, and don't let bonuses completely persuade you.

Ease of withdrawal

Requesting a payout is the next step after winning your wager. You shouldn't use an app that takes a long time to pay out rewards if there's a clear alternative.

Betting options and markets

You would want some degree of flexibility as a bettor. A bookmaker with a wide selection of betting alternatives is better than one with few options.

Odds

As we mentioned earlier, odds are important to bettors. The higher the odds, the higher the potential returns. Comparing the available apps to identify the best odds provider is a smart move given the app ticks other boxes.

How to wager

West Virginia sports betting is pretty direct but we understand it could be quite delicate for beginners. As a bettor, you can either wager at retail sportsbooks or online. Either way works as long as you’re going about it legally.

At retail sportsbooks, follow these steps:

Locate and visit a retail sportsbook in West Virginia.
Walk into the premises and request to place a wager. Assess your betting options and decide on your wage.
Decide on an amount to wager with and place your bet.

While retail sports betting is also allowed, online wagering is a popular preference because of its convenience. You don’t have to visit a retail sportsbook or interact with any person–it can all be done on your device as long as you have access to the internet. You only need a betting account to get started.

For sports betting online, follow these steps:

Research and Choose a WV sports betting app

Since there are limited sports betting apps in WV, it’s fairly easy to choose a betting app. When choosing a WV sports betting platform, we strongly advise you to thoroughly assess your options before settling. To make the process easier, you can grade the apps with these criteria:

Service Quality
Promotional Offers and Bonus
Betting options and markets
Ease of deposit and payout

Sign-up for an account

Great!, now that you’ve selected a WV sports betting app, the next step is signing up on the app.

The process is quite straightforward as you’d normally need to provide a few pieces of information for verification. This may include your legal name, residential address, email address, phone number, and others. Bookmakers may also require further information to ascertain your identity, once done, your account will be successfully created.

If you don’t find your desired features on a single app(which is rare), you can sign up for two WV sports betting apps or as desired.

Understanding how betting works

One common mistake new bettors make is failing to understand how gambling works before investing in it. Just like every other venture, knowledge of gambling is crucial to profit in the industry. If you jump into gambling without proper knowledge, you’ll be exposing yourself to too much risk.

Abide by the following and you’ll be better positioned to be profitable:

Understand the sport you wish to wager on
Always research the teams or players you want to wager on
Never chase your losses by revenge betting, know when to stop
Only wager with an amount you can afford to lose.

Placing your bet

Now, you have a verified betting account and understand how sports betting works. Why don’t you try wagering?

To place your bet, follow these steps:

Open your sports betting West Virginia app and login into your account
Explore the betting options available and choose the event you wish to wager on
Enter your stake
Confirm your bet.

Withdraw your winnings

If you win your bet, you’ll be able to withdraw your earnings with your preferred payment method(usually the same deposit method). Compared to deposits, withdrawals may take a longer time to process.

West Virginia sports betting bonuses and how they work

It is common for bookmakers to provide promotional offers and bonuses to their customers in a bid to encourage them to wager. In West Virginia, there are limited sportsbooks which sort of fiercens the competition. Hence, bookmakers regularly use promo offers and bonuses to convince the limited players to stay with them.

As a bettor, in addition to quality service, you want to target WV sports betting apps that stand out in terms of bonuses and promotional offers. This trick will help you maximize your potential winnings while at the same time reducing your risks. Players can also be eligible for special bonuses using promo codes. Promo codes may be delivered directly to your email inbox or can be advertised on a sportsbook’s promotions page.

West Virginia Sports Betting image

Here are the common bonuses you’ll find in West Virginia sports betting:

Welcome bonus

As the name implies, a welcome bonus is awarded to new customers, welcoming and thanking them for registering an account with a sportsbook. The welcome bonus is a one-time bonus(claimable once per customer). This is a great offer, especially for beginners who don’t know their way around sports wagering yet.

You can use this bonus to test your luck before playing with your earned cash. To prevent exploitation by customers, sportsbooks may also set wagering conditions for the bonus.

Deposit bonus

Bookmakers may also decide to award a certain percentage of your deposit to you in free bets. For instance, a bookmaker may decide on a 150% bonus on your first deposit. That is, if you fund your account with $100, you will be awarded $150 in bonuses. Keep in mind that it doesn’t come easy as there are also wagering conditions that need to be met when using this bonus.

No deposit bonus

Perhaps, our favorite of them all is the no deposit bonus. Here, customers do not need to deposit any money into their accounts to be eligible for the bonus. New customers and customers whose accounts have been inactive for a while are usually eligible for this bonus.

One good thing about a no-deposit bonus is that it’s usually generous. Hence, players have enough cash at their disposal.

Free bet

One thing bettors love is free bets. With risk-free bets, bettors are eligible for a reimbursement usually in free bets(if the initial wager is lost). You should however note that risk-free bets have a cap to prevent players from abusing them.

Odds booster

In gambling, an odd can be described as the chance of an event occurring. When the probability of an event occurring is high, the odds will be low. Likewise, the lower the probability of an event occurring, the higher the odds.

An odd booster increases the projected payout on your wager. For instance, there’s a 1.5 odd of the Chicago Bulls being victors over the Brooklyn Nets in an NBA game. A bettor will have to wager $100 to win $50($150 total payout). With an odd booster, the bettor can win $100 with the same $100 wager($200 payout).

Betting options in West Virginia

There are several West Virginia sports betting options and markets to play around. This includes:

Soccer
NBA Basketball
Boxing
Golf
National Hockey League
Horse racing

Cricket
Darts
College Football
National Football League
Major League Basketball
Tennis

WV players can wager on different betting markets such as point spread, over/under, moneyline, and more.

Point spread

Point spread wager is popular in West Virginia sports betting. The expected margin of victory for the favorites or the predicted margin of defeat for the underdog is known as a point spread. A team that is the favorite must cover the spread if someone is placing a wager on them.

In an NFL game, for example, if a bookmaker gives the New York Giants a +4.5 point spread, it means they are the underdogs (a negative sign indicates the favorite). If a bettor backs the Detroit Lions, they must win the game or lose by less than four points. The bettor wins if they fulfill the condition. If not, the bettor loses.

Moneylines

Moneyline wagering is more straightforward than a point spread. Possibilities in sports events revolve around a win, a tie, or a loss. A player can therefore wager on any of these events. It's simple to get started with this moneyline gambling because you only need to choose an outcome.

Futures

Wagering on an event that will be concluded in the future such as who will win the French Open Series.

Parley

Combining multiple bets into a single one (an accumulator).

Over/under

Over/Under bets are very simple to understand. Bettors just need to correctly predict the least or the most amount of times an event will occur. Take the Philadelphia Union vs. Atlanta United FC soccer game as an example. When a bettor backs both sides to play at least 6 total corners during 90 minutes of regular play, they are placing an over 5.5 corner wager.

A wager on under 4.5 goals implies that the bettor anticipates both teams' aggregate goals to be under five. The wager is won if this result happens. Depending on the sport you're betting on, there are several over/under betting possibilities. Bets can be placed on goals, corners, shots, bookings, and other soccer statistics.

You need to have in-depth knowledge of the teams or players you intend to wager on. In a soccer match involving two offensive teams, you can typically anticipate a lot of goals, shots, and corners, making over bets the better choice. Under betting is preferable for a defensive matchup because you anticipate less offense from both teams.

College sports betting in West Virginia

One of the US states where betting on college athletics is permitted in West Virginia. The decision was logical given that many people harbor deep affection for their college teams in the same respect they do for standard pro clubs. Football and basketball are the two sports that collegiate WV fans are most interested in.

The most popular college football team in the state is the West Virginia Mountaineers who have won 15 conference championships.

What are the available payment methods for betting in West Virginia

West Virginia sports betting apps offer players different payment methods. With this, bettors don’t have to be confined to a particular payment option.

The popular payment methods are:

Paypal
Neteller
Visa/Mastercard
ACH (E-check)

PayNearMe
Play+ Prepaid Card
Gift Card
Online Banking

It is noteworthy to mention that most bookmakers will usually use the same deposit method for withdrawals. For instance, if you deposit into your account using PayPal, you’ll be able to use PayPal for withdrawals too. For deposit and withdrawal limits, you can always check the terms and conditions of the West Virginia sports betting app for confirmation.

Advantages you get from betting online in West Virginia

Convenience

Retail sportsbooks will require your physical presence at their designated location to place wagers. For online West Virginia sports betting, you don’t need to go through that tedious process. Players can easily access and place wagers from their devices anywhere and anytime. It just screams convenience.

Ease of payment

WV apps offer customers different payment options, bettors just need to select their preferred payment method. For instance, funding your betting account can be done with your credit card. You only need to enter your card details and enter an amount to fund your account with, no hassle!

Note that while deposits may be faster, withdrawal time may vary with bookmakers.

Competitive odds

The fact that there are limited bookmakers in West Virginia makes it fun for bettors. Sportsbooks will want to retain their customers and apart from bonuses, offering competitive odds is another way of effecting this strategy. Bettors will have the option of exploring the limited sportsbooks for juicy odds.

Bet tracking

Imagine you place a parlay bet that runs for a few days. You'd want to know how the bet is doing. When you wager online, you’ll be able to monitor the progress of your bet with ease.

Multiple betting options

Having several sports and markets you can bet on is one of the major perks of wagering online. Players can wager on a variety of sports including baseball, basketball, soccer, football, horse racing, and more. Over/under, point spread, parlays, futures, and moneyline are some of the betting markets you’ll find online in WV.

Bonuses and promo offers

Bettors that wager online have a better chance of catching promo offers and bonuses which gives them a head start. Bonuses help can have a significant impact on your game if you know how to apply them.

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.

History of sports betting in West Virginia

The first attempt to legalize sports betting was made in 2017 through the introduction of H 2751. This bill was geared towards legalizing and regulating sports betting in WV casinos. It didn’t go as planned as the bill fell through. H 2751’s failure was short-lived as it was reintroduced in 2018, this time, it was a success.

Shortly after sports gambling was legalized, online sports gambling too followed. However, WV’s first pioneering online sportsbook shut down due to an ownership disagreement. This slowed down online sports betting for some months as the state was intentional about not making any mistakes. In 2019, online sports betting resurfaced in the state and has been growing since then.

The body responsible for regulating WV sportsbooks is the West Virginia Lottery which was established on November 6, 1984. While college sports betting is permitted, high school sports betting is not due to the majority of participants being underaged.

Sportsbooks are required to pay a $250,000 application fee to operate in WV. This license expires after 5 years and can be renewed for $100,000. With a tax rate of %10, WV’s tax on sports betting revenue is significantly lower than what other states charge. This money goes into education and infrastructure amongst others to improve the economy of the state.

As of 2024, WV has already implemented HB 4700, which has amended the sports betting law to ban any person in sports betting who have harassed or harmed any person involved in a sporting event. This was implemented in an effort to protect athletes and other related parties from harassment when it comes to legal sports betting. An investigative commission will handle the matter and will invite the person banned to a hearing to come up with a resolution.

HB 5668 is also being pushed in the state with the hopes of gearing WVU in developing helpful programs that will either alter or expand courses, trainings, and other initiatives to help in innovating gaming technology development. This means that it will not only help in preventing problematic gambling behaviors, but also to encourage responsible gambling while building a trend in WV when it comes to sports betting that will have a positive impact in the economy.

FAQ

Can you bet on sports in WV?

Yes, following the legalization of sports betting in the state, bettors can now wager on sports of their choosing.

Where can I place a sports bet in West Virginia?

You can participate in sports betting either online(using sports betting applications) or at retail sportsbooks.

Is sports betting legal in WV?

Yes, sports betting is legal in WV. However, wagering on any form of high school sport is illegal.

When did sports betting become legal in WV?

Sports betting in WV was legalized in March 2018 but was restricted to retail bookmakers. In December 2018, online sports wagering was legalized in the state.

Paul Daniel Flores

Writer l Sports and Esports Expert

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