The roller coaster that is West Virginia sports continued throughout the last couple of weeks. Media reports Wednesday, however, noted that FanDuel Sportsbook WV and DraftKings Sportsbook WV may enter the WV sports gambling market.
Bettors were offered by the report in the country some news. In the event the programs enter the current market, it would mark the first alternative that is available mobile since BetLucky went awry in March.
Back in April, three sports gambling apps received consent by the West Virginia Lottery to run from the nation:
It looks as if two of these may enter the industry soon.
Legal Sports Report mentioned following 14, that DraftKings could debut in WV. WV MetroNews additionally reported FanDuel looks promising to start next week.
“I can say we are getting very close,” state lottery director John Myers informed WV MetroNews on Wednesday.
“Testing is performed on one and ongoing on a different. I really don’t have a formal roll-out date yet.”
Myers said he believes that online gambling should be offered by Aug. 31, the start of college football in West Virginia. And and of course the NFL season gets a week after.
Myers continued:
“We’ve wanted to see this up and running as far as anybody. I understand there is some concern that it’s taken a while but once you do something. Now we think we’re there.”
Soccer is the most popular betting season and a slow rollout could have hurt the marketplace. Missing the 2019 kickoff can be costly in terms of revenue for WV casinos along with the state.
On Aug. 16, Myers advised PlayWV that regulators were getting close to final acceptance on a few sports gambling apps being examined. He said that the Wire Act had been an issue and operators were still working to comply with regulations.
“There is no holdup in the country side. They have been advised by the lottery how a mobile system has to be set up since 2018. A number of our control solutions providers originally supplied a system that did not fulfill those requirements and the lottery denied approval of those based on the needs of this Federal Wire Act.”
The government recently appealed a judge’s opinion declaring the Wire Act only applies to Sports betting. It seems those difficulties have been worked through by the state.
Bettors from the Mountain State is going to be all set for the wagering windows to open. But many will have a wait and see approach.
As of this moment, there are 3 sportsbook choices for WV bettors as the opening game of the WVU football season systems.
The state has seen this scenario play out previously. never came to fruition, although A launch was rumored two months past.
That came after the BetLucky app was shut down in March. Delaware North, the operator of Wheeling Island Sportsbook casinos and Mardis Gras Sportsbook, coupled with Miomni.
After a legal dispute between a software firm named EnterG, the whole operation unraveled. Miomni and delaware North are in court.
On Wednesday, Legal Sports Report detailed how things went sour. Miomni is now battling in court at one lawsuit from the UK — on two continents together with EnterG and facing another with Delaware North in the US.
“A pricing dispute created a rift between EnterG and Miomni that left DNG [Delaware North] with no alternative for sports gambling, effectively shuttering WV sports betting at March,” the report notes.
“Miomni never got the intellectual property that it sought, and EnterG all but disappeared from the radar. Now it’s up to the courts to decide who’s at fault and parties possess that pieces of the mystery ”
Past the legal entanglement, the dissolution caused the shutdown of Wheeling Island sportsbooks and their Mardi Gras. That’s led to a sports gambling market.
With the news of DraftKings and FanDuel’s coming, that may change. Tons of West Virginia bettors will keep their fingers crossed.
Sean Chaffin is now currently a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas. His work appears in many sites and books. Follow him. He is also the sponsor of this Legitimate Betting Stories podcast, available on iTunes, Google Play, TuneIn Radio, Spotify, Stitcher, PokerNews.com, HoldemRadio.com, and other programs.
Bet with your head, not over it. When you’ve got a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Recent Comments