Minus the lack of complimentary drinks, online gambling apps in West Virginia do a solid job of replicating the in-house experience. But there is something other than a watered-down well vodka tonic that you can only get in person.

Online Poker.

For a number of reasons, online poker in West Virginia remains closer to a dream than reality. And the bulk of those reasons involve issues that can only be untangled by lawyers and lawmakers.

Most importantly, there has not been the type of legal challenge to open online poker to more states in a similar fashion as the Supreme Court ruling that lifted the federal ban on sports gambling in 2018.

West Virginia Gambling Laws. West Virginia’s gambling laws have changed by quite a bit in 2019. As of March 27, 2019, the state is preparing to formally launch online gambling, including poker. In West Virginia, online poker escapes some of the harsher laws and penalties found in some states. A recent legal opinion sent down by the United States Department of Justice has essentially paved the way for 100% legal unrestricted online poker in West Virginia. Since the state government of West Virginia. You further acknowledge and agree that other than as set forth herein, the Websites do not screen any Users or Advertisers of the Websites, has no control over their actions and makes no representations or warranties with respect to the character, veracity, age, health or any other attribute of Users of the Websites, including any person who places Advertisements in the Websites. The Meadows Racetrack & Casino offers world class casino gaming, dining, events, entertainment, and luxury hotel just 30 minutes south of Pittsburgh in Washington, PA. West Virginia Senate passes bill allowing more new charter schools (1) Harrison County West Virginia Commission looking at nearly $1 million property tax shortfall in Fiscal Year 2022 (1) Officials: West Virginia could receive 15,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccines doses next week (1) Hospitalized Prince Philip has successful heart procedure (1).

The law impeding online poker in West Virginia

John F. Kennedy remains a revered figure in West Virginia, where his primary victory in 1960 signaled to many that America was ready to elect a Catholic president.

But it’s a law Kennedy and brother Robert pushed to get passed that serves as the biggest hindrance for online poker.

The Interstate Wire Act of 1961 sought to fight organized crime, which was one of the scourges of that era. In summary, the act prohibits the use of wire communications for betting across state lines. As currently interpreted, that affects online poker.

The difference between poker and other online games is the presence of other players. Blackjack and slots pit you against a computer. Poker, meanwhile, requires more complicated machinations to pull off with dealers and players.

Online poker in the US

Three states currently offer poker as part of a joint agreement:

• Nevada
• New Jersey
• Delaware

Pennsylvania may join that partnership, but legislators have not made a decision yet. Complicating matters is the possibility that the Department of Justice will prohibit such an arrangement from continuing.

Online poker is legal in West Virginia. However, WV online casino operators consider it cost-prohibitive because of the state’s relatively small population.

In order for poker to work in West Virginia, it almost certainly needs to be part of a multi-state agreement. Such a process would be much easier with a reinterpretation of the Wire Act.

West Virginia Online Poker Laws

Where the state stands in the debate

WV Lottery director John Myers welcomes online poker in West Virginia but concedes that he has no timeline for knowing when it may happen.

“Our casino partners are working on their own time frames in regards to what gaming options they bring to us for approval,” Myers told PlayWV.

“In the past several months we have had several providers launch mobile sports wagering and iGaming apps in the state, and we expect several of our casinos and their service providers will be adding to their iGaming offerings in the coming months.

“We would love to see the launch of an online poker option with a provider in West Virginia. However under advice from the attorney general’s office, that will be delayed until the Department of Justice’s current opinion regarding the Federal Wire Act is resolved or a studio is built inside the borders of West Virginia.

“That said, we understand that the size of our market and concerns over the Wire Act are likely impacting our casinos and provider’s business plans in regards to offering online poker in our jurisdiction.”

West Virginia has had a very interesting last few yearswhen it comes to online gambling. It is one of the only states to have passedcomprehensive, multi-vertical online gambling legislation, but it has had itsfair share of bumps in the road getting regulated gaming off the ground. Thispage will focus on poker in the state of West Virginia – where you can playnow, where you will be able to play in the future, and how to improve your gameno matter what level you are.

Online Poker in West Virginia

We will start with the most pressing topic in the statewhen it comes to poker – the status of online poker in West Virginia. Whenonline poker sites were launched back in the late 1990s, West Virginians tookto them like most of the world did – seeing massive growth in the space, itfelt like sitting in West Virginia, you could conquer the world one onlinepoker tournament at a time!

Unfortunately, West Virginians ran out of luck when theDepartment of Justice found a way to shut down the sites that had helped tobuild the industry, and by 2011, the glory days of online poker were gone. However,the good news for West Virginia is that the government decided in March 2019 topass legislation that would see online poker return in a regulated, legalenvironment. Since the passage of that bill, one of only a handful of billscovering poker, casino and sports betting, the launch of licensed online pokersites in the state has been stalled, but there is hope that the return to thedigital felt will not take much longer. There will be a total of five possiblelicenses for online poker, but given that two of the licenses are owned by thesame company, we won’t see more than 4 different poker networks available inthe newly regulated environment.

Land Based Poker in West Virginia

The reason that there will be five online poker licensesawarded in West Virginia is that there are five licensed land-based gamingfacilities, and each of these has a live poker room open to residents andvisitors to the state. These five facilities all offer the chance for bothresidents of the state and those traveling to West Virginia the opportunity tosit down in a cash game in Hold’em or other disciplines (likely Hold’em thoughas this is still far and away the most popular form of poker) or nightly orweekly tournaments depending on the facility.

Given that each of these facilities has a live pokerroom, the odds are that they will each be very active in promoting andoperating the online complements when they are ready to launch. The five land-basedpoker rooms in West Virginia are listed below:

Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races (Charles Town, WV)
Mardi Gras Casino West Virginia (Nitro, WV)
Mountaineer Casino (New Cumberland, WV)
The Greenbrier (White Sulphur Springs, WV)
Wheeling Island Casino (Wheeling, WV)

Social Poker in West Virginia

If you just can’t wait for real money online poker to beback, or perhaps you don’t feel you are ready to play for real cash yet, wesuggest you try one of the several social poker sites that you can access fromyour computer or mobile device. Social poker, played primarily for free andonly for social recognition, has ballooned in popularity in the time thatonline poker disappeared from the U.S. landscape, and today companies likeZynga boast millions of players every month. These sites simulate the actionyou will find at a real money poker site, but without the full risk of puttingup cash every hand. Now, the play will likely be far more loose than you mightsee in real games, but that shouldn’t stop you from using these sites to helppractice tactics you have learned along the way.

Subscription Poker in West Virginia

Top 10 Poker Sites For Us Players

If you want to try something in between social poker andreal money poker, then a subscription-based site may be just the thing for you.Subscription poker takes advantage of a loophole in sweepstakes laws to allowonline poker to be played for prizes in 36 different states including WestVirginia. The catch? If you join one of these site, you have to pay a monthlymembership fee to access the games. From there, all the games are free toenter, and you can play for hundreds of thousands of prizes every month.

Poker Training Guides

At Best U.S. Poker Sites, we know that showing you whatgames are available is only half of the story. We also want to make sure thatyou understand the games you may come across and that you are finding ways toimprove your game at every turn. When you are talking about playing for realmoney, this is a no-brainer – the more you know, the more likely you are goingto win. Our experts have come up with a guide for every game out there – how toplay, the differences in betting styles, and where to find the best trainingtools. If you are just starting out or you are just looking for a new game toplay, these guides will be of great value to you.

Online Poker in West Virginia FAQ

What is the holdup in the licensed sites launching inWest Virginia?

Gambling West Virginia

We know that many poker players in West Virginia arewondering this as well, and the short answer is that the sports betting launchwas the largest priority. If you have read the news, the launch of mobilesports betting in the state was mired with issues, and so it has taken a fewmonths to get back on track. Now that it appears all is well on the sportsbetting side of the ledger, it shouldn’t be too long before we see how onlinepoker is going to shape up in the state.

West Virginia Online Poker Site

I have seen ads for sites that look like that theyaren’t based in the U.S. Are they open to players from West Virginia?

West Virginia Online Poker Games

They are indeed, but that doesn’t mean you should berunning to open an account. These sites are not regulated in any way, and ashas been seen in recent years, they could go out of business with no legalobligation to refund players who have money on the site. This is too much of arisk for poker players in West Virginia who are painstakingly close to havingmultiple regulated sites available in their backyards. Take a deep breath, andwait for the licensed operators to open their doors – you’ll be glad you did.