On Friday, the West Virginia State Senate voted in favor of the West Virginia Lottery Interactive Wagering Act.  A vote of 26 to 7 will see the measure moving forward, allowing the gaming operators with land-based locations to offer online gambling. iGaming continues to progress in the state as the legislation received the recent approval.

Online Gaming:

The WV Lottery Interactive Wagering Act would allow the five licensed gambling operators of land-based venues to add online poker and casino games to their offerings. HB 2934 was recently approved in the House of Representatives in West Virginia but amendments were made on Friday to the bill, so the House will now have to re-approve the measure.

If the House approves of the changes and Governor, Jim Justice, signs the bill, then West Virginia will be the latest state in the US to legalize online gambling. Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware were the first to do so back in 2013 with Pennsylvania approving the option in late 2017, having yet to launch services, though they are expected to arrive later on this year.

One Step Forward, Another Back:

While the online gambling legislation is moving forward, another bill has died in the Senate. House Bill 2901 was set to allow two casinos in the state with the right to create a satellite facility that would feature video lottery terminals as well as gaming tables.

The bill was voted on within the West Virginia State Senate Finance Committee last week with a negative vote of 8-7. The legislation would have given Wheeling Island Hotel Casino Racetrack and the Mardi Gras Casino and Resort, the option to open the satellite facilities. Both venues are operated by Delaware North.

According to Calvin Ayre…

In a surprising turn of events, last week, both Wheeling Island and Mardi Gras ceased the operation of their online and land-based sports betting services. Both offered land-based sportsbooks along with mobile and online sports betting options. The BetLucky brand was the online offering.

The shutdown was due to a contract dispute involving a third-party technology supplier. Miomni Gaming is the platform provider who is currently experiencing the dispute. Delaware North has apologized for the shutdown and will not be taking new wagers. The company will honor and redeem all resulted wagers and trying to have a timeframe as to when operations will be restored.