The West Virginia gambling landscape is primed and ready to expand into the online space. With the online casinos currently available to residents of the Mountain State being exclusively hosted “off-shore”, the overwhelming consensus is that the time to bring the industry back in-house is due. Unlike federal law, West Virginia gambling laws takes the time to define and outline a punishment for unregulated gambling, technically making the act against the law. Chapter 61-10-4 of West Virginia law defines the act of “playing or betting” on any popular casino games or future events as a misdemeanor. That’s all the bad news. West Virginia’s online gambling options continue to expand with online casino gambling on the horizon. Jim Justice allowed the bill legalizing online casinos to become law. According to the West Virginia Lottery, the first WV online casino could launch soon. West Virginia became the fifth state in the US to legalize online casino gaming back in March of 2019. It could be a while however, before online casino gaming gets formally underway. For details on the current landscape of online gambling and when to expect West Virginia online.
All across the United States, citizens seem to have a deep curiosity if not love of gambling. Something about the heroic image of a gambler played by someone like Paul Newman has permeated the culture and given Americans from coast to coast a deeply romantic view on gambling, and the hard working people in the coal mining state of West Virginia are certainly no exception. Understanding West Virginia gambling laws will ease your mind about joining the action.
While romantic fantasies rarely match reality, those who maintain a healthy, regular and responsible gambling habit can tell you that as a regular hobby, gambling can offer great fun as well as the opportunity to earn a few extra bucks so long as the gambler shows some skill and has a little bit of luck on their side. While it’s obviously not for everyone, there are a distressingly high number of people who have an interest in gambling who do not participate under the mistakes assumptions that placing so much as one bet on the blackjack table will have them rotting away in a jail cell.
Federal law dictates that the act of placing bets or wagers on games of chance or future events is within a US citizen’s right, even if the facilitation of illicit gambling is a very serious crime. Most of the 50 states in the union, including West Virginia, use this as a solid template from which to write and enforce their own laws regarding gambling.
The rest of this page will guide readers through the entire landscape surrounding the legislation in West Virginia on gambling. The purpose will be not only to help West Virginia residents understand both the letter and intent of their laws that much better, but to help them find outlets through which to gambler that are as safe as humanly possible.
Legality of Gambling in West Virginia
Unlike federal law, West Virginia gambling laws takes the time to define and outline a punishment for unregulated gambling, technically making the act against the law. Chapter 61-10-4 of West Virginia law defines the act of “playing or betting” on any popular casino games or future events as a misdemeanor. That’s all the bad news. If one were to be convicted of this crime, the punishment is a fine that ranges from $5 to $100 and up to one year of probation.
At this point, one may be wondering what the point of even trying a crime with such a trivial punishment is, since in barely even accounts to a traffic ticket. That’s the good news. This is an obviously antiquated law which only helps confirm what anyone who peruses the history of arrests in the Mountaineer State will surely suspect: this is not a law that is even enforced in West Virginia anymore. It’s important to understand that the spirit and intent of the law was, is, and always has been to break up large, organized crime syndicates and not to punish otherwise honest residents who merely wish to place a bet. This is why upon inspection of arrests in West Virginia, one will find that no one has ever been arrested and brought up on charges merely for the act of gambling.
However, this does not mean that all gambling activity in West Virginia will go unnoticed or unpursued by state law enforcement agencies. Residents need to take special care not to “keep” and gambling devices on their premises or operate them, because this is a serious crime in the eyes of the law. Not only is it highly likely to be discovered and prosecuted, but the penalties for these crimes are much steeper. In accordance chapter 61-10-1, while the crime is still a misdemeanor, it is punishable by 2-12 months in jail and a fine of up to $1000. While this is not as steep a punishment as is found in some states, it should still be avoided at all potential costs.
Playing vs. Keeping a Gaming Table or Device
With such a stark difference in how these two acts are perceived by West Virginia gambling law, it’s well worthwhile to take an in-depth look at how what these two acts entail.
“Playing” a game in which one places a bet is not an act that will garner much or any attention from law enforcement officials, but it does take two parties to do so. While the first simply needs to show up and hand over money in return to place a bet, there needs to be someone present to take the bet and/or operate the game in question. This second party is probably guilty of “operating” the gaming device, if not the owner of the property, which would also mean that they are “keeping” the game.
Whether the guilty party is the owner or merely an employee of a larger entity, West Virginia views these infractions as largely the same. This is not to say that anyone who hosts some friends in their home for a game of cards and some beers after work is guilty of “keeping” a gambling game however, there is one more quality necessary to fully qualify for the steeper penalty and jail time: the guilty party must profit from the gambling event.
“Profiting” from gambling, as defined by law, does not entail making wise bets or wagers and coming out ahead, but rather putting oneself in a position to profit from the wagers without actually participating themselves. Some of the most popular ways to do this are by charging admission for the privilege to play in the game, operating any traditional casino games as the “house who, by definition, always has the best odds at winning, operating a sportsbook in which money is collected from losing bets and distributed to winners, (usually at a profit to the bookkeeper) or collecting a small percentage of each pot from a poker game as a profit to the house. This is often called a “rake.”
Just so long as a resident of West Virginia avoids these very specific actions, they should be able to avoid any and all legal attention related to West Virginia gambling laws.
Laws For Gambling In West Virginia
In accordance with the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act that passed in 1992 through the federal court, sports betting may not be sanctioned in any state save the four that were grandfathered an exception from this rule. Unfortunately, since West Virginia was not one of these states, it’s not possible to sanction any sports betting within state borders. This means that any land based sportsbooks a resident may run into are illegal operations that are incredibly unsafe to bet with, not only by virtue of the criminal element inherent in them, but due to the high likelihood of the state shutting them down as seizing all funds associated with them.
As a result, many residents of West Virginia have turned to legal online sportsbooks for all of their sports betting needs. Through the use of the internet, residents may place whichever bets they are most interested in both safely and away from any territory that would cause law enforcement agencies to stand up and take notice.
Fans of rolling the dice or flipping some cards for big winnings in West Virginia may rejoice because as of 2007, the state decided that it would sanction some forms of gambling and began erecting state sanctioned casinos. In these facilities, residents may take part in all manner of traditional table games and try their luck at the slot machines in what is obviously a completely legal and safe environment, given that the state itself sanctioned these facilities.
Still, four casinos spread out over the entire state is not a lot, and those who would prefer to save the time and gas associated with the long drives to these casinos are free to take part in legal online casinos for West Virginia residents. No matter the venue a prospective gambler prefers, it is possible to find safe and legal venues for all casino games in West Virginia.
Any of the licensed and sanctioned casinos in West Virginia should also offer all manner of poker games within their walls. Those who are fans of live action poker on the felt tables should have no trouble at all finding all manner of tournaments or sit and go games to take advantage of in these licensed facilities who often have upwards of 50 tables located within their premises.
To many residents’ assurance, West Virginia also will not interfere in the sacred rite of poker home games. Whether one prefers playing in a small group of friends or quietly from their computer via an internet connection, residents are within their rights to do so just as long as the host of any private games does not collect a profit from the game.
West Virginia Gambling Age / Minimum Betting Age
There are many ways to legally gamble in the state of West Virginia, and one very simple way to mess everything up. West Virginia gambling laws set the legal gambling age in the Mountaineer State for any land-based casino is 21, and it is strongly recommended that all residents wait until they are at least of that legal age in order to do so.
Those who violate this law will find themselves facing steep legal fines as well as potential jail time for each offense. Obviously, it’s well worthwhile to simply wait until one is over the age of 21 to gamble rather than leave themselves susceptible to these easily avoidable penalties.
| General | Lottery | Casinos | Poker | Pari-Mutuel | Bingo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 18 |
Where To Gamble In West Virginia
On-Land: Residents of West Virginia surely already know that their state is home to some of the most important horse races in the country, and that betting on them is a cultural staple that no law would dare to touch. However, as of 2007, West Virginia also began sanctioning some casinos. In addition to adding on to previously built race tracks, the state built new facilities that, all-in-all, have added more than 3,000 jobs to the state and helped drive in a great deal of new funds into the local economy. Residents of West Virginia are well within their legal rights to gamble in any of these facilities featuring both traditional casino games and poker tables. Unless something drastically changes in the federal courts as far as the PASPA goes, West Virginia has no prospects to offer land based sports betting.
Online/Web-Based: West Virginia residents have many reasons to turn to online gambling. Whether they are primarily interested in betting on sports (an activity not sanctioned by the state on land) or simply live too far away from a land based casino to make the drive worthwhile, legal online gambling sites for West Virginia residents are a convenient means of legal gambling.
Since these websites are located overseas, they are well outside of both West Virginia and US jurisdiction. This means there is no risk of these sites being shut down by the federal government or having the funds seized, something anyone who played with poker stars will surely appreciate. While the prospect of gambling with a foreign business may make some West Virginia residents nervous, there is no cause for alarm. In order to maintain operation as legal and legitimate businesses, these networks are held up to rigorous standards of fair play, financial security, and speedy payouts.
Best Gambling Sites For West Virginia
Trusted By Players All Over The United States
If you’re looking for the most complete and secure gambling site in the world, you probably want to go with the one that has been satisfying clients in the US the longest, and you may rest assured that by these standards, no one has come close to touching Bovada. This West Virginia gambling site has been operating out of Canada for well over 20 years, and in that time has racked up an impressive list of achievements.
Most notable is the quality and execution of their cashier page. In addition to providing an airtight, secure connection, this legal online gambling network will grant all their members’ one payout a month completely free of any fees associated with processing the check. That’s as many as twelve checks a year delivered to your door with great haste, containing all your gambling winnings. Most times, not even dealing with a land based casino is that easy!
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While we are confident that all the information presented on WestVirginiaGamblingLaws.com is accurate, we are not legal professionals and therefore it cannot be considered a consult concerning West Virginia gambling laws. Further questions should be directed to a legal professional or the state legislation at www.legis.state.wv.us which can be referenced under the bill numbers we have provided on this website.