West Virginia senate advances sports betting bill
News on 21 Feb 2018
News on 21 Feb 2018
The West Virginia State Senate has advanced sports betting bill SB415 by a vote of 25-9 to the House of Delegates.
Our readers will recall the bill was passed through the West Virginia Senate Finance Committee just last week (see previous report).
The Senate Finance committee said at the time, under the bill, that the State would receive around 30 cents of each $10 bet on a sports game, with approximately 27 percent of the revenue allocated to state casinos.
The measure would allow sports betting in the State’s four casinos and at The Greenbrier under the jurisdiction of the State Lottery Commission, who also anticipates mobile wagering in the future.
Discussions were led by Senate Finance Chairman Craig Blair, R-Berkeley Tuesday, who said the measure provides casinos with one more entertainment tool.
“All our bordering states are considering this as well, so we need to remain competitive,” Blair said.
The introduction of the new sports betting law is contingent on a favourable decision from the US Supreme Court in overturning the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA).
In related news, both Iowa and West Virginia have rejected the NBA and Major League Baseball’s calls for a 1 percent integrity fee on the amount wagered on sporting events.
