FanDuel are now live in the Mountain State. The fantasy sports operator was quick to launch their sportsbook service in the US when PASPA was overruled in 2018.

In August 2019 they launched their West Virginia online service, which makes them the first sportsbook with an online presence in the state.

Their bricks and mortar is a little off the beaten track up in the Allegheny Mountains. However, since West Virginia does not require you to sign-up in person like Nevada, you can use FanDuel's service wherever you want in the state.

FanDuel needs to be given credit not only for getting off the mark so quickly in the Mountain State but for launching a great app with a welcome bonus. We are impressed with their West Virginian product - let's hope all the other sportsbooks meet the same standards!

Online sports betting has reached West Virginia and like most other states new sportsbook will have to partner with an existing establishment in order to be given a license.

Here are the following partnerships so far:

• Hollywood Casino/William Hill: With a global powerhouse behind them, many expected a mobile sportsbook app to have launched already in 2018. However, the company has claimed ‘technical issues’ have delayed the launch of an app. We feel that this means William Hills focus is on some of the more populous states. The fact that British Sportsbook has launched apps in Nevada and New Jersey, you would think that as soon as they put their mind to it, they will have an app launched in no time.
• Mountaineer Casino/DraftKings: The casino has partnered with Draftkings. The sportsbook then launched its mobile wagering service in August 2019.
• The Greenbrier/FanDuel: We all had this one down as a sure bet. Their partners, FanDuel Sportsbook were the second in the state to obtain a license. FanDuel, who partner with Meadowlands in New Jersey, wasted no time in launching their NJ app. FanDuel then became embroiled in a dispute over taxation, so the app was taken off the market. Now it seems to be up and running again.
• The Greenbrier/BetMGM: In January 2020 MGM announced that they would partner with the mountain luxury resort in West Virginia.
• Mardi Gras Casino and Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack: They actually launched West Virginia’s first-ever sportsbook called BetLucky. But soon after the launch the casino’s operator Delaware North was suspended due to a service provider. The app was taken off the market and looks unlikely to return.

In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that the nationwide ban, PASPA, on sports betting was unconstitutional. This left it up to each US state to decide whether they would allow sports betting within their jurisdiction.

This decision fell to the West Virginia Lottery Commission who legalized sports betting in the summer of 2018. They issued the first license to Penn National, the company that owns Hollywood Casino and Charles Town Races.

You have to be 21 or older to bet in West Virginia. You can be 18 years old or older to bet on E-Sports.

You will need to be within state borders to bet online; the sportsbooks will geolocate you by reading your IP address.

WV also require you to be a resident of the state to be able to place an online bet. If you are outside the state, but a resident of the state, you can register remotely with the valid ID.

The West Virginian sports betting market is not quite in the same league as New Jersey and Pennsylvania but for a state of 2 million people, it certainly holds its own. Their current tax rate is 10% which is not that bad compared with other states and certainly hasn’t scared of sportsbooks.

If we take January 2020 as an example; the state generated $2.2m in sports wagering revenue. Online sports bets generated just under a million of that total. Compare this with New Jersey which generated $54million in sports betting revenue and you can see that West Virginia still has someway to go.