West Virginia Live Casinos Hopeful After Golden Nugget Approval

‘West Virginia Live Casinos Hopeful After Golden Nugget Approval’ (Image Source: www.goldennugget.com)

In the USA, the Golden Nugget is the fifth online casino brand connected to live dealer gaming giant Evolution to gain access to the newly born West Virginia online casino market, bringing hope to introducing ‘West Virginia Live Casinos’. In July 2020, the state’s iGaming laws opened the virtual wires for online casinos to offer blackjack, poker, roulette, and online slot games to state citizens.

For a casino to offer online casino games, all partnerships and real money games must gain the approval of the West Virginia Lottery Commission, and the latest addition to the regulator’s list of approved casinos is ‘Golden Nugget Online Gaming’ (GNOG). The firm struck a deal with The Greenbrier Casino to use the casino’s current Lottery Commission license, giving GNOG access to West Virginia’s fast-growing online casino and betting market.

Online Casino Laws in West Virginia & the USA

The only way to operate an online casino in West Virginia is via a West Virginia Lottery Commission approved land-based casino. Venues holding licenses to operate include The Greenbrier, Hollywood Casino, Mardi Gras, Mountaineer, and Wheeling Island. It is The Greenbrier that is most likely to roll out a catalogue of live casino games because of its current relationship with major US online casino brands connected to Evolution.

4 out of 50 states in the USA legally operate online casinos under the jurisdiction of privately operated online casino markets. These states are New Jersey, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, which also allow sports betting but not online poker sites. Conversely, Nevada prohibits online casinos but allows online poker and sports betting.  There are also multiple states now offering online sports betting services only such as Illinois, for example.

Speculation That West Virginia Live Casinos On the Horizon Justified

Both FanDuel and BetMGM are already operating online casinos in West Virginia, while Golden Nugget is a new player in town. All 3 are using The Greenbrier Casino licence and coincidentally, or not, have deals with Evolution to supply live casino table games to their online casino platforms operating in new Jersey and the newly opened Pennsylvania market.

Evolution struck deals with all 3 firms over the course of 2020. The Golden Nugget deal came first back in May 2020, followed by the BetMGM agreement in August this year, and a partnership with FanDuel came to light on 4 November via the Evolution news page. All 4 brands mentioned here also operate in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and Evolution has live dealer studios in both states streaming games to all 3 platforms while BetMGM and Golden Nugget are also online in the state of Michigan.

Furthermore, Evolution’s Ezugi brand also operates out of New Jersey with live table games available at all 3 online casinos in the Garden State. At this time, the West Virginia Lottery Commission, Evolution, Golden Nugget, BetMGM, or FanDuel are yet to indicate when live dealer games will become available. Maybe Evolution will need to open their third US live casino suite using floor space in The Greenbrier Casino.

Evolution Potential Expansion into West Virginia

If a deal does not come via The Greenbrier Casino, Evolution’s expansion into West Virginia could come via any number of partnerships the firm has with other online casinos approved to operate within the state. DraftKings operates via a Hollywood Casino licence and formed a partnership with Evolution way back in January 2019. Adding to this, DraftKings currently has a deal with NetEnt to offer the brand’s games in its West Virginia casino while Evolution just confirmed its takeover of NetEnt today, which will only serve to further extend the relationship between the Swedish and US firm.

Another potential partnership deal that could bring Evolution live tables to West Virginia is the deal the firm has with William Hill, USA. Currently, William Hill is yet to open an online casino in West Virginia with its key focus on sports betting via the Mountaineer casino. However, this is yet another connection or avenue that further solidifies speculation that Evolution is going to take the West Virginia market by storm!