Two West Virginia casinos reopen sportsbooks

Just in time for the largest sporting event of the year, Super Bowl Sunday, sports betting returned at Wheeling Island Hotel Casino Racetrack in Wheeling, and Mardi Gras Casino in Cross Lanes, West Virginia.

Delaware North, the parent company of the facilities, announced Friday that it would relaunch sports betting at those locations that morning. Wagers were being accepted as of 11 a.m. Friday morning as the Betly sportsbook under International Game Technology (IGT) opened its book.

“We have worked for months and months to get something that we feel is an exciting way for our guests to come in and place wagers on their favorite sporting events,” Brian Knost with Mardi Gras Casino told MetroNews.

Options on the book include the Super Bowl, NBA games, College basketball, NASCAR racing, PGA tournaments and more. And for the first time, guests at both casinos can place bets at five Betly kiosks inside the Sports Bar along with the traditional teller windows. Of note on the kiosks, bets over $1,000 have to be placed at the teller windows.

“It cuts down the lines at the window,” Knost said. “Guests can go up to the kiosks and they can place their bets there and get a voucher. Should they win on that particular bet then they take it to the cage and cash in on that bet.”

Sports betting had been terminated at the Delaware North casinos in West Virginia since March 2019, following a contract dispute between the management services provider Miomni and a third party vendor. Knost called IGT a very “reputable organization” that Delaware North has confidence in moving forward.

Kim Florence, President and General Manager for Wheeling Island Hotel Casino Racetrack, said in a news release she is excited to reopen the sportsbooks. “We are so pleased to reopen our sportsbooks at both West Virginia casinos,” Florence said. “We are looking forward to welcoming back our valued guests by providing reliable, best-in-class sports betting experiences.”

A mobile sports betting app for the casinos through Betly is still being worked on, but Knost said it will launch “very soon.”