W.Va. Set for Sports Betting After SCOTUS Decision, But Integrity Fee Has No Traction in Legislature

Following a U.S. Supreme Court decision today, West Virginia is set to have legal sports betting. State lawmakers passed a bill earlier this year in anticipation of the court’s ruling on a case from New Jersey.

Gov. Jim Justice announced last week that he’d reached a deal for casinos to pay a fee to professional sports leagues to help them protect the integrity of their games. Casino operators, however, said the meeting with Justice ended without a deal, and they continue to oppose the fee.

A special legislative session is expected to coincide with interim committee meetings this weekend. But Senate President Mitch Carmichael says there’s no interest in the Legislature to address the integrity fee.

“We do not see — speaking from the Senate’s perspective — any path towards the state injecting themselves into this private negotiation,” Carmichael said.

During the regular legislative session earlier this year, leagues had lobbied unsuccessfully for the fee to be part of the law.