West Virginia approves sports betting

West Virginia Senate passed a bill this Tuesday legalising the sports betting industry.

US.- Although sports betting is currently banned outside Nevada, Oregon, Delaware and Montana, the Senate of West Virginia State has passed a bill legalising operations. Sports betting operations could soon be legal throughout the United States as the US Supreme Court considers approving legislative amendments to allow it.

West Virginia’s lawmakers argued that a regulated sports betting industry could be a great revenue generator to help fund the Public Employees Insurance Agency. The State’s Senate voted 29-5 in favor of Senate Bill 415 on Tuesday. The bill allows betting on sports at the Mountain State’s casinos and through mobile phone apps, as reported by WV News.

West Virginia has become the latest state to show interest in legalising sports betting operations, although the industry must be approved at federal level first. The debate on the bill will continue within the following months, showing that the market could be ready to operate sports betting platforms once major legalisation arrives in the USA.

PASPA, a sports protection act that was passed in 1992, prevents states from offering gambling lines on sports. Nevada, Oregon, Delaware and Montana were granted special exceptions as all four of those states were offering some variation of sports lotteries back in 1992. New Jersey has taken the case against PASPA to the US Supreme Court, which is set to release a final resolution in a few months’ time.