West Virginia Sports Betting: Best WV Sportsbooks

Moneyline bets are simple: bet on a team to win a particular game or match. The odds might look like this:

• Cleveland Guardians +154
• Philadelphia Phillies -184

The important thing to know about moneyline bets (and odds in general) is this: a plus (+) sign in front of the odds means the team is the underdog. A minus (-) symbol means the team is the favorite to win. This then determines the payouts. With the odds above, a $100 winning bet on the Guardians would pay $154 (plus your initial bet back). Meanwhile, a $184 bet on the Phillies would pay $100 (plus your initial bet). In other words, betting on the favorite will pay out less.

Point spread betting is where the term “cover” comes from. If you hear bettors talking about “covering the spread,” they’re talking about these bet types. Point spreads give the underdog a phantom point advantage and the favorite a handicap. Here’s an example from the NFL:

• New England Patriots +9 (-105)
• Cincinnati Bengals -9 (-115)

The +9 and -9 is the “line” on this bet. Essentially, it means the Bengals are expected to beat the Pats by 9-ish points. If the final score sees the Bengals beat the Patriots by more than 9 points, they cover the spread, and that bet wins. If the Patriots 1) win straight-up or 2) lose by fewer than 9 points, they cover the spread and bets on them win.

Totals are also known as Over/Under betting. These bets don’t involve picking a team to win. Instead, you decide whether the teams will combine for more points or fewer than the line set by the sportsbook. Here’s an example from the same NFL game we used above.

• New England Patriots vs. Cincinnati Bengals
  • Over 42.5 (-115)
  • Under 42.5 (-105)

Totals bets are all about points. It doesn’t matter which team scores them. The only thing that matters is whether the two competitors combine for more or less than the line, which is 42.5 in the example above.

You would bet on the Over if you think the Bengals and Patriots will total more than 42.5 points, while you would bet on the Under if you think the end-of-game total will be less than 42.5.

Totals bets are a nice way to get engaged with a game, even if you don’t have much interest in the teams taking the field.

Prop bets are wagers on a specific occurrence within a game, not necessarily tied to the final score. For example, you might bet on a certain NBA player to log a certain number of assists. Or you can bet on an MLB player to hit a home run. Here are a few props we saw at WV sportsbooks at the time of writing:

• Brandon Lowe to hit a home run (+390)
• Andy Pages Over/Under 1.5 bases (+102/-139)

Football and basketball are also popular prop-betting sports. WV sportsbooks offer many prop markets during the NFL, NBA, and WNBA seasons, as well as college sports seasons.

Parlays combine individual bets into a single wager. Each bet within a parlay is called a “leg,” and every leg must be successful for the parlay to pay out. Here’s a quick example of an MLB parlay we made at Caesars, with the odds of each leg and the total odds of the parlay:

• Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 (+158)
• Oakland Athletics moneyline (-105)
• Braves vs. Mets Over 7.0 runs (-120)
• Total odds: +823

A $100 bet on that parlay would pay $923 ($823 plus the original bet), but only if all three legs were successful. Parlays are high-risk, high-reward.

West Virginia sportsbooks also allow players to place same-game parlays, combining bets from within a single game.

The first WV sportsbook to go live in 2019 was BetLucky. However, disputes between vendors led to the site shutting down. West Virginia would become a sports betting desert for the next few months. In August 2019, things kicked into high gear when FanDuel and DraftKings both launched ahead of the NFL season.

West Virginia’s sports betting structure allows for up to 15 online sportsbooks. For its license, each sportsbook must be tethered to an in-state retail casino. Each casino, in turn, can have up to three sportsbook partners, called “skins.” This is why you see properties like the Greenbrier or Mountaineer Casino with multiple sports betting partnerships.

After a few successful years of legalized online betting, West Virginia lawmakers sought to expand the state’s options further. Delegate Moore Capito brought House Bill 4826 to the floor in February 2022. The bill aimed to allow betting on esports, and it was successful. It was speedily approved, and Governor Jim Justice signed it into law.

Overall, West Virginia’s legalization effort is a great example of fast-acting and rapid law-writing.

West Virginia cracks down on illegal sportsbook Bovada with a cease and desist letter.

House Bill 4826 is introduced and passed quickly, legalizing esports betting at West Virginia sportsbooks.

FanDuel and DraftKings launch to bring online sports betting to the state.

Sports betting fully launches with other retail casinos in the state.

Hollywood Casino books the first legal sports bets in the state.

The US Supreme Court overturns the PASPA, allowing sports betting legalization to be decided by states.

SB 415 is passed in West Virginia’s House of Representatives and Senate. Governor Jim Justice allows the law to be passed without signing it.

First and foremost, we look closely at the sportsbook’s odds and compare them to competitor lines. No single sportsbook will have the best odds across the boards (that’s a recipe for going out of business). Instead, we recommend sportsbooks that can regularly offer advantageous lines to bettors. The difference in payout between odds of -115 and -105 may seem small, but it can add up over time. This is also why we encourage bettors to make accounts with multiple sportsbooks and shop for the best odds.

This is just a fancy way of saying “number of things you can bet on.” We start by looking at the sports and leagues offered. FanDuel and DraftKings tend to lead in this category. From there, we take a more granular approach and seek out the individual bets within those spots or leagues. As you might expect, “the more, the merrier” is our approach. We want WV bettors to have a wide variety of bet types for their favorite sports.

Obviously, a lot goes into making a sportsbook easy to use. Sportsbooks in WV that can tick the most boxes inevitably get higher scores in this area.

Mobile and desktop betting are both offered by most WV sportsbooks, so our reviews take us deeper into the functionality of those platforms. An app or site should be seamless, with intuitive menus, clearly labeled buttons, and a visually appealing display.

Because there are so many factors within this section, we recommend reading individual sportsbook reviews to find your preferred sportsbook for an ideal user experience.

When evaluating sportsbooks’ payment methods, we ask three primary questions:

1. How many methods are there?
2. How fast do deposits and withdrawals process?
3. What are the minimums and maximums for each method?

In a perfect world, a sportsbook in WV will offer many payment options with speedy processing and low minimums with high maximums. PayPal, ACH eCheck, and online banking are among the top methods we look for. Ideal processing times are instant for deposits and 1-3 days for withdrawals.

Most sportsbooks have a minimum deposit of around $5 or $10.

One last thing to mention is the ease of the payment process. Sportsbooks should make it simple to deposit or withdraw. The WV sports betting sites that do this best will usually get solid scores in this category.

We take your safety and protection very seriously. Sportsbooks should, too. This is why we rigorously evaluate WV sportsbook security practices. These can include SSL encryption to protect your data, trusted payment methods from reputable providers, and multi-factor authentication when you log in.

At a much higher level, we only recommend legal and licensed US sports betting sites. There are many offshore and illegal bookmakers, but you won’t find any of them advertised on our site because we care about giving you a safe betting experience in West Virginia or anywhere in the states.

You’d never have to contact a company for help in a sports betting utopia. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a sports betting utopia, so customer support is of the utmost importance in WV.

Good customer service includes offering multiple channels: instant messaging/live chat, phone lines, and email. From there, we look for response time. Sportsbook customer support teams that are dedicated to helping players will respond swiftly. Along those lines, we check to see if the sportsbook has specific customer service hours. They should also present as few hurdles as possible to getting actual help from an agent. Chatbots might be well-intentioned, but they rarely help in any meaningful way. Finally, are the solutions actually helpful? The quality of the help is as important as the availability.

You might’ve guessed these were a top priority for us, considering we list the best WV sportsbook welcome bonuses at the top of this page. We keep a finger on the pulse of bonus trends and constantly look for the most beneficial new player bonuses.

A good welcome bonus will offer sportsbook credit with a low playthrough requirement. Terms and conditions can make or break a bonus, so we also review those.

Luckily, West Virginia has a wide variety of bonus types for players to take advantage of.

WV sportsbooks won’t leave you hanging after your welcome bonus is gone. The best sportsbooks in the state will continue providing you with opportunities to maximize your experience. Promotions vary in amount and structure, but some of the more common types are odds boosts, parlay insurance,  and free-to-play contests. When we review a WV sportsbook, we look through the promotions for existing users and give an overview so players can know what to expect.

Yes. West Virginia offers legal sports betting. Operators must have a license and a partnership with one of the state’s retail casinos. Each retail casino can partner with up to three sportsbooks to offer online betting.

Yes. DraftKings is one of the top sportsbooks in the nation, so it’s no surprise it’s the top dog in West Virginia. You can download DraftKings Sportsbook via the iOS App Store or Google Play.

Yes. FanDuel is live and legal in West Virginia. Not only is the FanDuel Sportsbook live, but you can also play online casino games, bet on horse races, or play in DFS contests with FanDuel WV.

As in other US states, you must be 21 or older to bet online in West Virginia. This is the same age you have to be to visit a retail casino location and place a sports wager at any of the brick-and-mortar sportsbooks as well.

West Virginia is home to nine sportsbooks available for online and mobile betting. DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, and BetRivers are among the top sportsbooks in the state.

Yes. While some states prohibit certain college wagers, such as those on in-state schools or player props, West Virginia has no such restrictions. You can bet on college sports, including schools like WVU or Marshall.

West Virginia offers pretty much every sport imaginable for betting. Professional and college sports are all covered, including football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. More obscure sports are also offered. You cannot place wagers on high school sporting or under-18 esports events.

No. You can bet online in West Virginia as long as you meet two requirements. First, you must be 21 or older. Second, you must be physically within West Virginia state borders. This means you can play at online sportsbooks or casinos even if you’re just visiting.

Yes. Offshore or gray market sportsbooks are not licensed by the West Virginia Lottery and remain illegal in the state. We only recommend legal and licensed sportsbooks, as they keep your data and money safe.