West Virginia Inches Closer to Sports Betting Bill, But Integrity Fee Issues Loom

West Virginia lawmakers are inching closer towards passing a bill that would legalize sports at the state’s licensed casinos. Local news outlets say that the bill’s passage could have football fans legally gambling on the outcome of games by the end of the month, but issues regarding the professional sports league’s insistence on receiving a cut of the action via integrity fees are gumming up the works.
Political in-fighting over whether or not the state’s four casinos should be paying a percentage of their action to professional sports leagues that earn billions of dollars is definitely gumming up the works in this part of the legislative process. Lawmakers and member of the state’s lottery commission (which is charged with running gaming in the state) are vehemently opposed to requiring casinos to pay the fee. The state’s governor, billionaire Jim Justice, doesn’t seem to think it’s such a bad idea. Coincidentally, Governor Justice also happens to own the Greenbrier Resort and Casino where sports betting would take place.
Justice’s views on the subject of integrity fees have been under the microscope since he went against the state legislature’s original wishes and pushed very hard to have the fees instituted. Some have suggested that Justice’s ties to professional sports organizations through his resorts (and the fact that he’s a billionaire) are tainting his views on the subject.
Tensions in the State House over the matter have become hot enough that Senate Finance Chairman Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, told the West Virginia Gazette Mail, “It’s disturbing the hell out of me right now the way this is taking place.”
Despite the in-fighting, it’s still expected that legal sports betting will be in place by the of the month.