1. Casino In West Virginia Gambling
2. West Virginia Gambling Self Exclusion
3. West Virginia Gaming Commission
4. Charlestown West Virginia Gambling

Please play responsibly and within your limits. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, assistance is available by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) or visiting 1800gambler.net. Information, resources, counseling and referral services can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Access our Self-Exclusion Form (pdf).

It’s been less than two weeks since GVC Holdings announced its Sustainability Charter. Today, it took its first concrete step towards implementing it.

• Self Exclusion Program FAQ - Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. § 3503 (relating to criminal trespass) and the individual’s winnings will be subject to confiscation and remittance to support.
• The West Virginia gambling exclusion list restricts individuals from the state’s casinos and all gambling venues, including online sportsbooks and casinos. In order to be removed from the self-exclusion list, the excluded person must petition the director of the Lottery Commission in writing.
• Wheeling Island Gaming, Inc will treat this self-exclusion request confidentially. Such information shall not be disclosed except to Wheeling Island Gaming, Inc and the West Virginia Lottery Commission for inclusion on their lists.
• Self-Exclusion FAQs. The easiest way to explain self-exclusion is through a series of FAQs. Read the FAQs below to learn about self-exclusion and find further resources for gaining help with problem gambling. Who imposes self-exclusion? Answer: The bettor, himself/herself. By definition, no one can impose “self-exclusion” on someone else.

The company, which will soon change its name to Entain, became the first official partner of PlayPause. This is a new responsible gaming tool developed by the non-profit Conscious Gaming. Launched in September this year, it is powered by geolocation company GeoComply.

GVC’s US operations consist of its own Partypoker and Party Casino brands, plus a joint venture with MGM Resorts International. The latter, called Roar Digital, operates the BetMGM brand for onlinepoker, casino and sports betting.

One aspect of GVC’s Sustainability Charter is that it has committed to donate £100 million (roughly $132 million) over the next 5 years to support responsible gambling. It did not reveal exactly how much of this went to Conscious Gaming to secure official partner status.

This is the first initiative specifically made under that new commitment. However, it’s far from GVC’s first effort to advance the cause of responsible gambling in the US. It is a member of the National Council on Problem Gaming President’s Circle. It also collaborates with both EPIC Risk Management and a team of researchers at Harvard University working on addictive behavior.

GVC CEO Shay Sevev had the following to say about the partnership:

“We are delighted to be the first official partner of PlayPause. We believe the most responsible operator will be the most successful operator, and PlayPause’s innovative, multi-state approach to responsible gaming in the U.S. aligns with our firm commitment to providing our customers with the safest and most enjoyable experience possible.”

GVC aims for a squeaky clean reputation

GVC’s decision to rebrand as Entain may come in part from the simple desire to have a name more likely to stick in the minds of both customers and investors. However, it is also taking the opportunity to turn over a new leaf when it comes to compliance and social responsibility.

Donating to responsible gambling causes is only one aspect of that. The company has also made a number of other commitments, including:

• Exiting all unregulated gray markets, starting now and completing by 2023,
• Launching its own internal Advanced Responsibility & Care (ARC) program, and
• Tying executive bonuses to hitting responsible gambling targets.

The timing of these commitments is relevant on both sides of the Atlantic.

In Europe, the context is that the gambling industry as a whole is facing public backlash after its failure to self-regulated effectively. Legislatures and regulatory bodies in multiple countries have been imposing ever harsher restrictions on the industry, as well as cracking down in their enforcement of existing laws.

Meanwhile, in the US, GVC has seen the risk of its past catching up with it. It was nearly denied its Nevada gaming license due to the actions of one of its subsidiaries in Turkey, where online gambling is illegal. Although it did ultimately get the license, it was a close call that may have served as a wake-up call for the need to clean up its reputation.

After all, regulation in the US is state by state. There’s no guarantee that one regulator’s leniency means that others will see things the same way. Getting cut out of a new market due to having played loose with the rules elsewhere is a risk not worth taking.

What is PlayPause?

In a nutshell, PlayPause is a self-exclusion tool. It’s much more sophisticated than any of the registries currently being used in the US, however. For one thing, it allows players to self-impose restrictions that will extend to every state in which an operator is active.

Every state that has legalized online gambling has included self-exclusion requirements for operators. Players who feel they have a problem can ask the regulator to be put on a list, distributed to all operators in the state. The player in question will then be prevented from logging in to any existing accounts as well as opening new ones. Self-exclusion can be permanent or temporary.

The problem with this approach is that it’s state-by-state. Since US citizens can travel freely between states, a relapsing gambler can circumvent their self-exclusion simply by getting in their car and driving to another state.

PlayPause, on the other hand, will let players exclude themselves from all of an operator’s sites. The downside, for now, is that it won’t prevent them from playing at other companies’ sites. That may change as more companies adopt the solution.

That’s not all. It also allows a more focused and customized approach. For instance, a player who finds some games more habit-forming than others can self-exclude only from specific products, verticals or game categories. It also provides tools for players to monitor their own habits in the same way operators do.

Keith Whyte, Executive Director of the NCPG has given the product his approval:

Casino In West Virginia Gambling

“Creating a multi-state self-exclusion tool has long been a goal of all stakeholders that are committed to responsible gaming […] This is a prime example of how technology and innovation can be leveraged to advance consumer protection and foster a more effective responsible gaming framework across the gambling and sports betting industries.”

An interstate solution on the eve of online casino expansion

From 2013 to 2018, state-by-state self-exclusion wasn’t a big deal. At that time, the only states with legal online casinos were New Jersey and Delaware. Once a player had self-excluded in both those states, there was nowhere else to go to playonline legally. The arrival of legal US sports betting changed things considerably.

Now, BetMGM is active in mobile sports betting in six states and has launched its onlinecasino in West Virginia. It has its license to launch in Pennsylvania, and should do so soon. Meanwhile, Michigan could go live in a matter of weeks or a few months at the outside. Party Casinoand Partypoker may come to these latter states as well.

Having PlayPause available from the get go will be a huge help as BetMGM and Party expand into these new markets. In that sense, the timing is perfect. It will also provide those brands with a unique selling point for those keen on gambling safely.

Adam Greeblatt, the CEO of Roar Digital/BetMGM addressed that aspect specifically in discussing the partnership:

“A multi-state approach to responsible gaming is an important step for the industry and advances consumer protection in a meaningful way. We’re delighted to play a leading role in collaborating on this important and timely initiative.”

Hopefully, GVC’s experiment with PlayPause proves successful, and its competitors soon follow suit in adopting it, or other similar solutions.

Sports betting is legal in West Virginia — at least if the federal ban outside of Nevada is deemed unconstitutional.

As anticipated, the WV Sports Lottery Wagering Act is becoming law. Gov. Jim Justice did not sign the bill, but it will become law on Friday without his signature, according to a release from his office.

West Virginia Gambling Self Exclusion

The House and Senate each scrutinized the measure in recent weeks before passing it with relative ease.

Justice did not veto the bill despite a public call to do so from the commissioner of Major League Baseball. He may, however, call a special session to revisit the legislation once the US Supreme Court makes its move.

In passing a sports betting law, West Virginia becomes the sixth state to do so in recent years and the first in 2018.

From the WV governor…

Justice delivered a press release on Friday night, which included these quotes:

“After the U.S. Supreme Court issues its decision on sports wagering, to address any provisions of the legislation that might be in conflict, I will ask the Legislature to look at the advantages of partnering with the major sports leagues,” Gov. Justice said. “I believe there could be real value to this partnership. I expect the Supreme Court to rule on this issue in the next few months.

“This approach will allow us to develop a relationship with all the major sports leagues so that it is beneficial to everyone.”

Gov. Justice went on to say that “if there are issues that we can address” to make this “model legislation that the entire country can use and duplicate, we should do so. Again, nothing can happen until the Supreme Court issues their decision, but we want to be ready when they do.”

West Virginia Gaming Commission

The mention of the leagues appears to be a direct response to Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred asking him to veto it. It seems to have made some impact on Justice, but it’s unclear if the full legislature will be willing to go back and make changes now that the measure is fully passed.

Both leagues released statements following the news: MLB NBA

WV sports betting becomes law

The bill reaches the finish line less than six weeks after it was first introduced in the Senate. That’s pretty quick for a bill of this magnitude, and it speaks to the efforts lawmakers have put into the issue over the past year.

The first WV sports betting bill popped up in March 2017, and legislators have been exploring the topic since. One 2017 bill turned into three within the first month of 2018. The one that ultimately passed (S 415) was submitted at the behest of the Lottery Commission, and it was the culmination of a year of research and discussion.

The law permits the state’s five gaming facilities to offer sports betting under the lottery’s oversight. They’ll each pay $100,000 for the right to do so, and they’re expected to generate at least $5 million in total first-year tax revenue.

Despite substantial support from the majority of lawmakers, there were a few loud voices of opposition. Some presented arguments on the dangers of mobile wagering or betting on collegiate and minor-league games. Others contended that the state constitution requires a voter referendum to legalize sports betting.

The sports leagues were the loudest opponents, though, with the NBA and MLB actively lobbying in the statehouse. In the very moment the House was debating the bill last week, Manfred was on a conference call with local media pushing for a veto.

Why did sports leagues want a veto?

West Virginia’s new sports betting law shuts out MLB and other sports leagues from the integrity fee they’re seeking.

Leagues have offered their support for some sports betting legislation, but only if they’re included in the action. They argue that they should receive one percent of all money wagered as compensation for the power of their brands in a widespread, regulated industry. League lawyers have referred to it as both an “integrity fee” and a “royalty fee.”

Lobbyists pitched those fees to WV lawmakers, but there was significant pushback in both chambers. The House, in particular, struggled to find justification to cut the leagues in. The demands never found their way into S 415, so the leagues remained opposed until the bitter end.

Losing the battle for WV could prove critical, as the leagues could struggle to gain traction elsewhere.

A Pennsylvania sports betting law already passed without including integrity fees, and New York and Connecticut have both pushed back in their own efforts. It’d be hard to argue that their constituents should pay for something that West Virginians do not, especially when those fees are not going to state coffers.

Just waiting for SCOTUS now

Charlestown West Virginia Gambling

Although it has a law on the books, federal prohibitions prevent West Virginia from allowing sports betting right now. The act known as PASPA preempts state law and prohibits expansion of the industry outside of Nevada sports betting.

New Jersey is trying to change that, asking the US Supreme Court to take another look at PASPA. The court’s upcoming ruling will shape the future of legal sports betting in the US.

As with other states, West Virginia’s law contains an activation clause that keeps it dormant until there is movement at the federal level. That would need to come either via the court or an effort in Congress.

Most experts are predicting a victory for New Jersey, and the speculation has led nearly 20 other states to consider sports betting bills. Six of them are out in front of the pack with bills that have already been signed into law.

Here are the states currently waiting on the Supreme Court, although there’s more legislative work to be done in a couple of them:

• Connecticut
• Mississippi
• New Jersey
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• West Virginia