West Virginia Real Money Gambling Guide
The West Virginia gambling industry is relaxed in most regards. The state currently has a total of five casinos, four of which are pari-mutuel casinos and the other is a hotel-casino. The hotel-casino is called The Greenbrier and it only accommodates overnight guests and individuals who belong to one of the hotel’s sporting clubs. The hotel has many strict requirements some of which include specific dress codes for men after 19h00.
All five casinos offer the whole range of casino games along with pari-mutuel betting, lottery games as well as charitable forms of gambling. There is no official law in the United States that bans online gambling blatantly. This has always been a grey area in the US.
Despite the uncertainty about online gambling and whether or not its actually legal, people have gotten away with enjoying web-based casino games in the state for a long time, none of which have served actual jail time for engaging. We’ll tell our readers which are the best USA online casinos players can enjoy from the state of Virginia.
Casinos in West Virginia have a slot machine located in every gambling room. The casinos offer games like roulette, blackjack, and video poker. All slot machines are classified as “electronic gaming machines” (e-gaming machines). Slot machines and games like poker and roulette are popular in many other state casinos too.
All casinos are required to pay a tax to the Virginia government. The tax is usually 15 percent of the gross amount of the sales (or in the case of a slot machine, the gross amount of the money wagered). This tax must be paid whether or not you have the cash to pay the tax. However, you may deduct your tax payment from any other income you might receive
Accepts players from: United States
Updated: 25th April, 2025
Ranking West Virginia Casinos
Affiliate DisclosAffiliate Disclosure: By accessing and depositing through our provided links, we may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn More
Gambling Casinos in West Virginia
Terms & Conditions
West Virginia Casinos
We’ve mentioned above that West Virginia only has five casinos currently operating in the state. We thought it might be useful to name these casinos, and to give an estimated number of slot machines available at the casino. We’ve also put down the street address to make matters even easier for you.
| Name of Casino | No. of Slot Machines | Street Address |
|---|---|---|
| Hollywood Casino, Charles Town | 2,700 | 750 Hollywood Drive |
| Mountaineer Casino, Chester | 2,100 | 1420 Mountaineer Circle |
| Wheeling Island, Wheeling | 1,400 | 1 S. Stone Street |
| Mardi Gras Casino, Cross Lanes | 1,000 | 1 Greyhound Drive |
| Casino Club, Greenbrier | 320 | 300 W. Main Street |
Gambling Laws
The most basic West Virginia Gambling law is that players need to be at least 18 years old to play bingo games, the lottery, and racing. For other casino games like video lottery and all the popular casino games, players need to be at least 21 years old.
Each category of gambling also has its own set of rules that govern how it works. The racing industry for example is allowed to bid live horses and dogs. These animals can also have their own individual racebooks. Those who provide off-track betting are allowed to operate online as well as through apps.
Video lottery on the other hand is only permitted through the state. Video lottery facilities are usually only found in places where alcohol is sold. Other available games in similar locations include slot machines and well as video poker machines. The law states these machines must pay out between 80% and 90%, while the tax rate on any win has to be 52% of the win.
Game Selection
West Virginia offers a host of casino games. This ranges from state lottery games that we’ve mentioned above. The state also offers interstate lottery pools like Mega millions and Powerball. Charity organizations are permitted to host bingo games as well as raffles for fundraising purposes.
Racetracks in the state provide some of your favorite casino games and table games, which include blackjack, roulette, craps, four card poker, three card poker, ultimate Texas hold’em and let it ride. There are also no bet limits to these games, which is exciting for high rollers and real money players.
West Virginia Gambling History
Racing was the first form of gambling ever legalized in the state of West Virginia. This refers to horse and greyhound racing to be specific. All this happened in 1931. Horse racing was also the first kind of gambling accepted in other states.
The State lottery came second and was instated by way of votes in 1984. In the first decade of operating the lottery sold traditional lottery tickets. Ten years later in 1994, the state expanded by offering video lottery as well. Video poker continued to saturate West Virginia all through the 1990’s, although some machines operated under questionable circumstances.
Fortunately, video poker was later legalized under the Limited Video Lottery Act. With the legalization of these machines came a few strict requirements that operators had to adhere to. For example, all new machines had to be licensed and capped at 9,000. The tax rate on these machines had to be fixed at 48%, but was later raised to 52%.
FAQs
Gambling age restrictions are divided into two categories in this state, as in many other states. The minimum age for bingo, lottery and racing is 18 years, while the minimum age for video lottery is 21.
The lottery in West Virginia works slightly differently than in other states. Here games like video poker, slots and keno fall under the lottery category. The businesses are nondescript and may not be advertised.
For the most part, yes. Online gambling might be another story. Currently, the only form of gambling that’s legal by law in West Virginia is off-track betting.
Yes, all five casinos in the state have poke rooms so you are spoiled for choice.
Yes, as long as the casino is licensed and regulated by a reputable authority. These regulations ensure that the free spins offers are safe and that the outcomes of the Greenbrier is a licensed casino resort. It is also the only one in the state. Therefore, only hotel guests, and club members are allowed in the premises. The casino facilities are for their use.
There are only five casinos in the state of West Virginia.
