MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Sports betting in West Virginia will begin Saturday with the debut of operations at the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races.
West Virginia is one of five states that enacted sports betting laws following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in May against a federal law that banned sports betting nationwide.
The SportsBook at Hollywood Casino will open at 11 a.m. on Saturday before college football games begin at noon.
Hollywood Casino vice president of racing and sports operations Erich Zimny said the new addition to the hotel is exciting.
“It’s a very good sportsbook environment and something very similar to what you see in Las Vegas or a pre-existing one that people might be used to,” he said.
Danielle Boyd, managing legal counsel for the West Virginia Lottery Commission, said they have held multiple test runs to make sure Saturday goes smoothly.
“We wanted to make sure all the revenue numbers reconciled and that the math added up,” she said. “It has officially added up. We will be able to verify all revenue that comes through the SportsBook on Saturday and any other day is as it should be.”
Boyd, appearing on MetroNews “Talkline,” said the Lottery Commission is making sure the right systems are in place without being overbearing.
“The commissioners took up the minimum internal control standards, which are essentially just additional details on how we do accounting and how the different specifications for any IT systems that are deployed,” she said. “All of those requirements have been met.”
An app for placing bets is still in development. Boyd previously said sports betting operations at the four other West Virginia casinos will be launched in phases.