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The US Sun

05 September 2023

ONLINE CASINOS are legal in West Virginia, with the first sites launching in 2020. In fact, West Virginia was one of the first states to introduce large scale legal online gambling shortly after the removal of the Professional and Amatuer Sports Protection Act by the Supreme Court in 2018. Prior to 2018, PASPA had acted as a federal ban on online sports betting and casino gaming in almost all US states.

Today, the online gambling scene in the Mountain State is thriving. Residents have around ten different online casinos to choose from, with more appearing every year.

On this page, we’re going deep on everything you need to know about the best West Virginia online casinos. That includes the types of games available, how to sign up, deposits and withdrawals, customer support and, most importantly, how to claim your West Virginia casino bonus right now.

�� What are the top West Virginia online casinos?

If you want the very best, then these two casinos are the cream of the crop in West Virginia:

How are West Virginia online casinos regulated?

All legal online casinos and sportsbooks in WV are regulated by the West Virginia Lottery Commission. The Lottery Commission hands out licenses, monitors the games on offer for fairness and provides a high degree of consumer protection. They also have lots of information and support about responsible gambling and education within the gambling industry.

Legally, online casinos in WV must have a partnership with a brick and mortar casino in the state. Big casino resorts like the Hollywood Casino and the Greenbrier Resort have deals with multiple online casino skins. Operators must pay a $100,000 license fee and gross revenue is subject to a 15% tax.

�� Can I play for real money in WV online casinos?

Yes, real money online gambling is legal in WV and has been since 2018, shortly after the Supreme Court removed the legislation that prevented states from offering legal sports betting and online casino games.

Legal sports betting arrived to WV first, with the passage of SB 415 in 2018 by the West Virginia state legislature. This enabled the state's existing casinos to begin offering in-person sports betting. The first online sportsbooks arrived the following year, with the passage of the West Virginia Lottery Interactive Wagering Act.

It was another year before the first online casino finally launched in West Virginia, when DraftKings Casino opened its virtual doors. In the 2023 fiscal year, the WV online casino industry generated $139 million in revenue.

A closer look at the best West Virginia online casinos

In this section, we’re taking a closer look at our favorite online casinos in West Virginia.

It’s been a whirlwind decade or so for DraftKings. The company began as a Daily Fantasy Sports platform, growing exponentially throughout the 2010s along with its rival FanDuel. As legal online sports betting and casino gaming began to roll out in the US after 2018, DraftKings expanded its reach significantly. Today, the company is the most popular sportsbook in many US states, as well as an excellent online casino platform. The range of games is excellent, from slots and table games to the latest live dealer tables - including exclusive live tables created especially for DraftKings.

New players can claim a customizable 100% welcome bonus, with their choice of a $2,000 limit with 15x wagering requirements or a more modest $100 limit with just 1x wagering requirements.

Highlights:

Flexible welcome bonus package
DK exclusive games available
Lots of guides and tips for casino games on the platform

BetMGM is one of the biggest names in US gambling. The casino serves as the online platform for MGM Resorts, the company that operates a variety of luxury casino resorts around the country. The online casino features thousands of games from a variety of top software providers. The slot menu in particular is extremely extensive, and includes a great selection of progressive jackpot games.

New players can get a 100% match bonus worth up to $1,000, plus a $25 no-deposit bonus.

The MGM Rewards loyalty programme is one of the best in the country, and lets you win prizes, vouchers and experiences that you can use at in-person MGM resorts. In this way, BetMGM really blurs the line between traditional brick-and-mortar gambling and the more modern world of online casino gambling.

Highlights:

Generous welcome bonus
Excellent loyalty programme
Live chat customer support

�� What kind of online casino bonuses can I find in WV?

Write a transitional sentence and then cover the following bonus types in WV casinos:

Bonuses and promotions are a massive part of the world of online casinos. Casinos use these offers to try to attract new players, stand out from the crowd, and keep existing players sweet and engaged. In this section, we’re running through the main casino bonuses you can find in West Virginia.

Welcome bonuses

A welcome bonus is any kind of one-time-only bonus offered to new players in exchange for signing up with a casino. They are effectively marketing tools: the casinos' pitch to get you to create an account - but that doesn’t mean they can’t also be valuable.

Examples of welcome bonuses include deposit match bonuses, no deposit bonuses, free spins, cashback offers and more. Just like all casino bonuses, welcome bonuses come with terms and conditions attached that you need to take into consideration. The most relevant of these are wagering requirements, which we’re going to cover in the next section.

No-deposit bonuses

A no-deposit bonus is any type of welcome bonus a casino offers without the need to deposit some money first. Normally, it comes in the form of a small amount of bonus cash, often around $20, which means you can sign up and experiment with real money games without risking any of your own money.

You can win real money from no deposit bonuses too, but it’s not always totally straightforward. Apart from wagering requirements, casinos might cap the total amount you can withdraw or require you to deposit some of your own money down the line before you can withdraw your bonus winnings.

Matched deposit bonuses

A deposit match bonus is a very common type of welcome bonus. In this case, the casino doubles your first deposit up to a certain value, so you start with a significantly boosted bankroll.

The matched money will be bonus cash or casino tokens, and you won’t be able to withdraw it without completing wagering requirements or other conditions. The more you decide to deposit up front, the more bonus cash you receive.

Many WV casinos offer a 100% match bonus to new members, like BetMGM where you can claim up to $1,000 in this way.

Refer a friend

Refer-a-friend promos normally benefit both you and your friend. All you need to do is get your friend to sign up to the casino via your unique link or using your referral code, and you will both receive some kind of bonus. You might get a small amount of bonus cash or some free spins.

Are there wagering requirements for West Virginia online casino bonuses?

Yes, there certainly are.

Any time you receive extra money via a bonus from a casino, you won’t be able to withdraw it right away. Instead, it can only be used to gamble. Wagering requirements refers to the number of times you need to gamble with some bonus cash before it becomes available to withdraw.

For example, wagering requirements of 1x would mean you simply need to bet your bonus amount once in order to unlock it.

Let’s say you got $500 in bonus cash from a match bonus, which has wagering requirements of 15x. That means you would need to wager a total of $22,500 ($500 x 15) before you can withdraw any of your winnings.

Wagering requirements are designed to stop players simply signing up, claiming a bonus and withdrawing the money right away.

It’s understandable that casinos want to protect themselves in this way, but it’s also true that they sometimes misrepresent bonuses by including extremely high wagering requirements. For this reason, you should never claim a WV casino bonus without checking out the wagering requirements in advance. Normally, around 10x or 15x are acceptable for higher-value bonuses.

Signing up at a West Virginia casino is very simple. No matter which site you choose, the process is more or less similar, since WV online casinos are legally required to gather the same information about their customers.

Here’s the information you’ll need to create an account:

Full name
Date of birth
Phone number
Username
Password
Address
Four digits from your SSN

Depending on the site, you may also have the option of typing in a promo code to unlock a specific welcome bonus. Check out our reviews for the latest West Virginia promo codes.

West Virginia casinos are also legally mandated to verify the identity of all customers. Often this step is completed when you create your account, but sometimes you can do it later.

Verification involves sending the casino a copy of your personal ID, which the customer support team checks to make sure it matches with the info you provided when you signed up.

What’s the minimum gambling age in WV?

You need to be at least 21 years old to gamble in WV. Also, to play at WV online casinos you must be physically located in the state.

�� Do I have to pay taxes on online casino winnings in West Virginia?

The short answer is yes. Gambling winnings are considered taxable income in WV, although only wins over a certain threshold (normally $5,000) get automatically reported to the IRS.

Outside of larger wins, it’s up to each individual to keep track of their gambling winnings and losses and include them in their taxes at the end of the year. As of 2023, gambling losses are considered tax deductible.

What games can I play in West Virginia online casinos?

The online casino industry in West Virginia is booming. With almost a dozen online casinos up and running, from the US and around the world, competition for players has never been higher. The range of casino games available in WV is up there with any state in the US. In this section, we’re running through the main gaming options.

�� Slots

Slots are both the most popular game at online casinos and make up the bulk of the menu. From old-school three-reel slots to modern 3D slots that look more like something from Xbox, many West Virginia casinos have close to a thousand different games on the menu. There are also Megaways, progressive jackpots, slot leaderboards and plenty more fun variations.

�� Table games

Table games tend to make up a smaller but healthy chunk of the gaming menu. There are normally various types of blackjack and roulette on offer, as well as plenty of more niche classics. Think virtual craps, keno, Sic Bo, baccarat and more.

�� Video poker

Again, WV online casinos tend to have a good variety of video poker games, including online versions of the arcade casino classics, like Joker Poker and Jacks or Better.

�� Live dealer games

Live dealer games - where you play a real-life game with a human dealer via a live video link - have become a staple at West Virginia casinos. Evolution remains the predominant live dealer software provider, and features lots of blackjack and roulette tables, baccarat, craps and more. There are also fun game show-type live games available, like spinning a prize wheel for a random payout.

What payment methods can I use to deposit and withdraw from West Virginia online casinos?

Modern online casinos tend to allow a variety of different digital payment methods. While many people prefer the simplicity of topping up their account with a bank card, there are also plenty of people out there who want to use the latest e-wallet or cryptocurrency.

The best WV casinos keep ahead of the trends and offer payment methods for everyone. Below is a list of the methods you can use in the state:

Bank cards (Visa, Mastercard, AMEX etc)
Bank Transfer / ACH transfer / e-check
E-wallets (PayPal, Skrill etc)
paysafecard
Crypto payments (Bitcoin, Ehtereum etc)
Play+ Cards
Cash at casino cage

�� Do West Virginia online casinos have mobile apps?

Yes. Mobile gambling is totally legal in West Virginia and all the top online casinos and sportsbooks have mobile apps for both iOS and Android. Mobile gaming is fast becoming the dominant way that people gamble in the US, and West Virginia mobile apps facilitate that by providing the exact same experience you get on your laptop transplanted to your mobile.

We recommend only ever downloading legitimate apps from the App Store or Google Play Store, where you’ll find the latest legal online casinos in WV.

Our top 5 tips for playing at West Virginia online casinos

Find a welcome bonus that suits you. The sheer variety of offers out there can be overwhelming, and it’s important not to grab the first promotion you see and instead choose a bonus that suits your playing style. For instance, if you’re a lower stakes player or a casual newcomer it makes more sense to get BetMGM’s $25 no deposit bonus to try out the site, compared with DraftKings’ $2,000 match bonus.
Plan your spending. The last thing you want to do is to jump into a new site with no plan for how much time and money you want to spend. Set yourself a budget like $25 per week, and think of it like going to the movies.
Join multiple sites. There is nothing stopping you from signing up with two or more online casinos, as long as you are in control of your gambling and your spending. Joining different sites gives you access to a wider range of games, and means you can claim multiple welcome bonuses.
Only gamble what you can afford to lose. Our number one tip is to appreciate that casinos always win in the long run. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be in business. Online casinos are a lot of fun and short term wins can be extremely exciting. However, they are certainly not a reliable way to make money.
Ask for help if you need it. WV online casinos have various responsible gambling initiatives, and you can even ask to be banned if necessary. The West Virginia Lottery Commission also has support and resources for anyone struggling. Don’t be afraid to reach out.