West Virginia mobile sports betting close, says casino executive

West Virginia casinos could begin offering mobile sports betting within the next few weeks, according to an executive at the Hollywood Casino.

Legalised sports betting went live in West Virginia in August, with Delegate Jason Barrett, D-Berkeley placing the first bet at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in Jefferson County.

Punters have so far been limited as to how they can bet on sports in the state, but Erich Zimny, vice-president of racing and sports operations at Hollywood, said this could be expanded to mobile before the end of October.

According to Legal Sports Report, Zimny said: “We expect to launch our mobile app, I don’t have a firm date. It’s not going to be next week, it’s not going to be three to four months from now; we hope to get it up and running in the next few weeks.”

Zimny’s comments come despite the West Virginia Lottery having not yet stated a launch date for sports betting mobile apps. Hollywood operates its sportsbook in partnership with William Hill US.

Meanwhile, the West Virginia Lottery has confirmed that planned sports betting launches at the Wheeling Island Casino in Wheeling and Mardi Gras Casino in Nitro have been delayed.

Both casinos had been due to roll out services by the end of September, but this did not materialise.

The companies have not specified why the launches had been delayed, but is believed that further testing of their systems is required.

West Virginia has enjoyed a relatively successful start to legalised sports betting. Last month, it was revealed that licensed casinos in the state took more than $300,000 (£229,750/€258,400) in the first week of legal sports betting.Image: Pixnio