West Virginia Lottery Director John Myers says mobile sports betting apps could be available to players in time for NFL season starting this week.
“We want to see it up and running as much as anybody,” Myers said. “I know there’s some concern that it’s taken awhile, but when you do something for the first time, you have to dot the I’s and cross the T’s. We think we’re there.”
Since West Virginia law requires mobile sports betting linked to a brick and mortar locale, FanDuel will work with the company’s Greenbrier sportsbook, while DraftKings partners with Hollywood Casino in Charles Town.
In addition to licensing the app providers—William Hill Sports, Fan Duel and DraftKings—the apps had to undergo lab testing and the lottery had to make certain the technology would comply with the federal Wire Act.
FanDuel finished testing with Gaming Laboratories International and is in the process of testing with the West Virginia Lottery, which regulates sports betting. Dorson said the launch will mark a first for FanDuel in that it will run its own wallet rather than partnering with GAN, which it does in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
According to a lottery press release, DraftKings has completed testing with the state, but there was a compliance issue related to the physical location of their servers. “Everyone involved wants to make sure we proceed the right way,” Myers said in a press release in June. “The construction of the network and the mobile app involves many parties and can affect the operations of other jurisdictions.”
Meantime, legal issues will prevent Mardi Gras and Wheeling Island casinos from launching mobile apps for the time being. “I don’t expect them before football season,” Myers said.
The two Delaware North properties launched casino sportsbooks and sports betting apps simultaneously in late December 2018, but shut down all sports wagering in early March over a legal dispute with the provider of the software. Delaware North subsequently severed ties with the company, which it is suing on fraud claims.
Dorson said Delaware North is still searching for a technology partner.
