West Virginia Governor Turns iGaming Bill into a Law

It looks like the legalization of iGaming for West Virginia was smooth sailing, since the House Bill 2934, introduced back in February, has already been turned into law by state Governor, Jim Justice.

The online gambling bill, sponsored by delegate, Jason Barrett, went through all necessary steps and ed approval by both chambers of the West Virginia legislature.

Now, the Governor has allowed land-based casinos to launch online gaming without even g the legislation…

…making it the fourth US state to legalize online gambling.

Turning the Bill into a Law

Although the bill, HB 2934, was classified as “pending for the Governor’s approval” up until now, Barrett stated that the bill has completed the whole process.

Since the bill was approved by both chambers of the state legislature on March 9, the Governor had 15 to declare his opinion regarding this bill. Since he neither vetoed it nor signed it, just like with the West Virginia sports betting bill, the bill automatically became law.

Details on the Bill

According to HB 2934, also known as the West Virginia Lottery Interactive Wagering Act, all five of the state’s land-based casinos will have five-year licenses available. Each casino would have to pay a $250,000 license fee…

…and after those five years , they would have to pay an additional $100,000 to renew their licenses for five more years.

The five state venues are Hollywood Casino, Mountaineer Racetrack and Casino, Delaware North’s Nitro and Wheeling properties and Governor Justice’s Greenbrier resort.

All of those venues could also partner up with managed service providers and allow online operators to run skins as sub-licenses. But, those companies would then have to retrieve a management services provider license that costs $100,000 annually.

Also, all suppliers of the equipment, system or services that would power B2C iGaming offerings, will be required to pay a $10,000 for a license and renew it each year for $10,000.

The Taxation of Online Gambling

All online gaming operators will be taxed at 15% on their gaming revenue…

…while the money from the tax will then go to the West Virginia Interactive Gaming Fund.

The plan is to return 15% of the money from the fund to the state’s Lottery Commission that would then cover expenses of operation and istration.

Also, 0.25% of the money would go to the pension plan for the employees of licensed wagering associations. The rest of the money would go to the State Lottery Fund.

The Beginning of Online Gambling

The exact date when West Virginia will start giving out licenses is still unknown.

Other US states that have legalized online gambling are Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Source:

“West Virginia Governor allows igaming bill to into law”, igamingbusiness.com, March 28, 2019.