Guide to West Virginia Gambling Age: Casinos, Sports Betting & More

West Virginia’s gambling legislation is far more liberal than many other states in the US. In fact, it is almost as liberal as leading states such as Nevada, New Jersey or Delaware. West Virginia has legal ways of playing and participating in almost every type of gambling such as casinos, racing and even online activities.

Sports betting has recently been legalized in West Virginia further opening up the gambling economy in West Virginia. This addition means that the state now has all forms of real money gaming on offer and has an economy to rival those of the largest US wagering economies such as Nevada and New Jersey. As you can see in the chart below, the West Virginia age requirements varies based on the game-type that you’re playing.

In the table above we have outlined the legal gambling ages for each legalised form of placing wagers in West Virginia. Players must be 18 years or older to play the lottery, bingo place pari-mutuel wagers. Whereas players must be over 21 to place sports bets or play Daily Fantasy Sports in West Virginia. If there is not an age listed, then that form of gambling is illegal within the state.

On this page we will go into greater detail regarding West Virginia’s laws, paying special attention to the legal age for each form of legalized gambling within the state. We will also discuss the history of gambling within the state as well as letting you know if there are any law reforms on the horizon.

Casino Age in West Virginia

West Virginia has a long and storied history with gambling. There is almost a romantic association with casinos and West Virginia reaching back to the late 19th century when there were several casinos in operation across the state. Interestingly West Virginia is one of the only states in the US with a healthy commercial industry to not also host any tribal casinos within its borders. This lack of tribal casinos is due to the fact that the state does not have any tribal reservations within its borders.

The casino industry has played a crucial role in establishing West Virginia’s state economy and still makes a strong economic contribution each year. Commercial casino gaming was legalized in West Virginia in 1994. The legal gambling age or casino age in West Virginia is 21, which is in line with several neighbouring states laws. There are five commercial casino ventures in operation in West Virginia, four racinos and one land-based casino.

There are many casino games on offer at the five commercial casinos in operation in West Virginia, including all table casino favourites such as Blackjack, Roulette, Craps and Poker. Casino’s in the state have also offered electronic gambling machines such as electronic slot machines and even video lottery terminals.

The legal casino gambling age in West Virginia is likely to set to 21 as this is also the legal drinking age across the US. Through matching the casino age to the federal drinking age West Virginia’s casinos are able to mitigate any issues they might encounter by serving underage minors should they have a lower age restriction.

In terms of further developments in West Virginia’s casino gambling industry, the current casinos in operation have recently faced a dramatic increase of out of state competition, with neighbouring states Maryland, Ohio and Pennsylvania opening over 30 new commercial casinos over the past decade. Due to this competition, West Virginia’s state legislature may look to authorize further casino locations within the state’s borders in order to compete with this increase in out of state competition in an attempt to attract more tourists and further boost the states gambling economy.

What are The Casinos In West Virginia that accept 18 year Olds?

There are no casinos in West Virginia that allow entry to 18-year-olds . The legal casino gambling age to enter a casino in West Virginia is 21. They should not be disheartened though there are still several forms of gaming they are able to enjoy in West Virginia. 18-year-olds are able to place pari-mutuel bets, play the state lottery, play bingo and participate in Daily Fantasy Sports.

For those players who are above the age of 21 we have gathered together the names and addresses of the four racinos and one commercial casino operating in West Virginia, their details can be found in the table below.

Sports Betting In West Virginia

In March 2018 the Supreme Court of the US repealed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act 1992 (PASPA) allowing all states in the US to legally offer sports betting. Having anticipated the repeal of PASPA in 2018, West Virginia had already legislated for both in-person and online sports betting to be made legal within the state, contingent on the repeal of PASPA being affirmed.

Once PASPA’s repeal was made official, West Virginia was able to work fast and in June of 2018, West Virginia’s Lottery Commission enacted rules that allowed the state’s land-based casino and four racinos to become eligible to offer in person sports betting licenses. All five commercial casino operations were then licensed and offering sports betting before the conclusion of 2018. The legal gambling age for participating in sports betting in West Virginia is 21.

Online sports betting was properly legalized in West Virginia in 2019, with one sports betting operation opening. Unfortunately for fans of online sports betting in West Virginia, this one online sports betting vendor closed up shop shortly after opening, but as of the end of 2019 there were several applications for online sports betting licenses – the processing of these applications have been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but West Virginia residents can hold out hope that once state operations return to normal online sports betting will again be in operation in West Virginia.

Another form of sports wagering that has long been legal in West Virginia is pari-mutuel betting on horse and greyhound racing. Pari-mutuel betting was legalized in West Virginia in 1931 when the West Virginia Racing Commission was established to oversee betting. Since the early 1930s racing and pari-mutuel betting has become a beloved past time of West Virginia’s residents and the state as a whole has established a reputation for being a destination horse racing. The legal gambling age for participating in pari-mutuel wagering in West Virginia is 18.

US Online Gambling Age

Online gaming is not yet legal in West Virginia. While West Virginia is attempting to position itself as an incredibly progressive state when it comes to gambling laws it is yet to legalize one of the more popular modern forms. As online wagering is not yet legal in West Virginia there is no legal online casino gambling age for the state.

While online sports betting is legal within West Virginia there are currently no operators registered in the state to offer this to residents. So while West Virginia has a slightly more open online gambling economy there is no way for residents in the state to take advantage of it.

While residents of West Virginia might be tempted to gamble online on one of the many offshore gambling websites that can be accessed, we would not advise this. Firstly, these offshore entities that operate such websites are not licensed or regulated within the US. This means that should players have any issues with the websites they will have no recourse against the operators under US or state law. Secondly, as placing wagers online is not yet legal in West Virginia those caught doing it could face prosecution.

In terms of future developments for West Virginia’s online gambling laws, as the state has proved itself to be slightly more amenable to legalizing new forms of wagering, comparative to other US states, further advances in the area could be on the horizon for West Virginia.

Poker Gambling Age

For poker fans in West Virginia, the only option of gameplay is in-person games at one of the states racinos or commercial casino. The legal West Virginia gambling age for playing poker in West Virginia is, therefore, the same age as the legal casino age, which is 21.

Unfortunately, online poker play is lumped in with online casino gambling, which means that it is currently illegal. However, should anything change on the online casinos front, then poker fans can be assured that online poker will be legalized.

Daily Fantasy Sports

Daily Fantasy Sports has been considered de facto legal in West Virginia since 2016. While another state’s across the US have Daily Fantasy Sports present in the state it is tolerated under an umbrella of implied legality, this is not the case in West Virginia after a statement from the state’s attorney general in 2016 there is been a de facto legal status applied to the game. The legal gambling age for playing Daily Fantasy Sports in West Virginia is 18.

West Virginia’s attorney general decided to make a declaration regarding Daily Fantasy Sports legality as it was decided that it is not predominantly a game of chance – which would have meant it was covered by the laws of the state that prohibit illegal gambling. Instead, it was decided that Daily Fantasy Sports is a game of skill.

The de facto legality is great for Daily Fantasy Sports operators as it allows them to confidently operate within West Virginia. On the other hand, the de facto legality is not great for the state itself as there is are no regulations in place to define operators scope within the state, apply taxes to operators revenue and there is zero scopes for the state to apply licensing/registration fees to the game’s operators setting up shop in the state. Because of this West Virginia’s state coffers miss out on a large injection of cash each year, should there be any legal developments for Daily Fantasy Sports in West Virginia it will likely be formal legalization allowing the state to levy taxes against the operators.

Legal Age to Play the Lottery in West Virginia

There is a legal state lottery in West Virginia. The state lottery has been in place since 1984 and was voted in via a voter referendum, meaning it was well supported amongst West Virginia’s residents prior to even becoming a legal reality. the legal gambling age for participating in West Virginia’s State lottery is 18 years old.

West Virginia residents can take part in multi jurisdictional games that offer some of the biggest jackpots available in the lottery, but there are also in State Games that have fewer players which many residents believe increases the chances of winning. some of the popular multi-jurisdictional games on offer in West Virginia include Lotto America, Mega Millions and Powerball.

West Virginia Lottery it’s overseen and regulated by the West Virginia Lottery Commission, much like lottery commissions in other states it is responsible for all things lottery within the state this includes the games available prizes and prize collection regulation and the inspection of lottery retailers.

Unfortunately for fans of online gaming, there is no form of online lottery on offer in West Virginia. with such a lengthy history with a state lottery coupled with the fact that West Virginia appears to be amenable to adopting more modern forms of gambling it will probably only be a matter of time before West Virginia adopts an online state lottery.

West Virginia Gambling Laws & Future Outlook

West Virginia’s laws can be found within West Virginia code chapter 29. under chapter 29 gambling is defined as ‘betting or wagering money or another thing of value on a game of chance or knowingly giving money or something of value for another to bet on the game of chance’. Under this very broad definition, It is clear that all of its popular forms fall, therefore any form of legalized gambling in West Virginia acts as an exception to the blanket of illegality.

West Virginia’s gambling economy is incredibly strong comparative to the number of casinos it hosts within its borders. the states for racinos and one commercial casino create a $1.1 billion economic footprint every year, while also supporting over 8000 jobs within the state. The majority of the economic impact with the state comes from casino gambling, and this is only set to increase through the increased awareness and enjoyment of sports betting within the state.

There are taxes applied to winnings in West Virginia, they are considered personal income and are therefore text at each individual’s personal income tax rate. further, the state lottery also applies federal taxes to winnings over $5000, this federal tax is set at 25%.

In terms of future legal gambling development in West Virginia, the one area with the state has failed to liberalize its laws is in online gaming. Given its increased popularity across the US, as well as other states adoption of more liberal online gambling laws there is hope that West Virginia welfare that liberalizes the current laws in play in the state and establishes an online industry. To stay up to date with the legal situation around real money gaming in each state, regularly check our legal gambling ages in the US page.

Frequently Asked Questions

We hope that this page has given you a good oversight of the legal gambling laws in West Virginia. should you have any additional questions take a look at the answers to the most frequently asked questions below.