The drought is finally over for West Virginia. FanDuel on launching its Sportsbook on Monday became the first mobile betting platform to be operational in the region in 6 months. The last sports betting app to be live in the state was BetLucky.
BetLucky was active from December and was terminated in March due to a dispute. The closure of BetLucky adversely affected the state budget and created a big void in the market.
In WV, FanDuel has been around for a year, but only in the form of retail sportsbooks. Their base was also not conveniently located. They were at The Greenbrier, which is in a very remote location and not very bettor friendly.
FanDuel will be operational under the property’s license of the private club, The Greenbrier which is owned and operated by the family of Gov. Jim Justice. The standalone program of the app was made available via the web and Android/iOS devices on the launch day.
In the press release the president of The Greenbrier, Jill Justice stated:
As of now, FanDuel is the only online betting app in the region but may not be for long. DraftKings has already conducted testing on its mobile betting-application, but due to location issues, West Virginia Lottery couldn’t approve the app.
FanDuel wanted to provide the bettors with a portable version of the betting app. A betting app, like any other polished apps, found elsewhere.
The app has its digital footprint in 3 states. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia but operations in WB are a bit different from the other two states. While in New Jersey and Pennsylvania the app operates via GAN account management, it is a standalone client on the back end in West Virginia so, a full build-out platform has been confirmed by Fan Duel on the launch day.
FanDuel’s sportsbook will also open shortly sportsbook at the Diamond Jo Casino in, Iowa, and will also be open in Indiana soon.
