West Virginia political betting situation remains unclear
Uncertainty remains after FanDuel briefly offers presidential election betting, before having it taken down.
For a brief moment, West Virginia became the only state in the US to allow political betting.
The West Virginia Lottery, the supervisory body of the state’s betting market, on Tuesday approved a plan to allow bets on the upcoming US presidential election.
After the initial announcement, the West Virginia Lottery wanted to do more research, but FanDuel was quick to jump at the opportunity.
However, the operator accepted bets for less than an hour until wagering was halted and the money refunded. During this time, FanDuel reported it had received only one bet and it remains anonymous.
Lottery Director John Myers issued an apology for a mixed announcement, saying, “We just screwed up. I didn´t have the authority to do it, it should have never happened and I apologize to everyone.”
Governor Jim Justice stated, “I thought, you know, are you kidding me? The first thing that came to my mind was, you know, what next?”
He stressed that despite the seemingly funny nature of the event, it remains a ridiculous situation. Gambling on elections and its outcomes has been illegal since West Virginia outlawed it in 1868.
Along with election betting, the players also had a chance to bet on what states will vote for which party, who would be the new Vice President and similar topics.
DraftKings, a rival of FanDuel, expressed its reservations about the situation: “While we are excited about the possibility of offering odds on politics and elections to our customers in West Virginia, we are taking the time to ensure we evaluate the opportunity thoroughly before posting any lines.”
The West Virginia Lottery is still planning to gather enough data before releasing a final decision. For now, no betting on elections is allowed.
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