For months now, accusation has been thrown in the face of the West Virginia Lottery for not doing enough to ensure that mobile sports betting apps are up and running by the start of NFL season. The latest news is that Lottery Director, John Myers, said that while he was hopeful that a sportsbook app could be launched before September 5th, he could not guarantee that it would happen. He promised that the Lottery would be testing two mobile apps in the near future but said that “there are some items that the lottery or the service provider cannot control.”
In the meantime, Del. Sean Fluharty, who was instrumental in his efforts to legalize sports betting in the state, blasted the Lottery, saying that “mobile betting has continued a disturbing trend” in the state “where legislature passes a law and those responsible for implementing the law drag their asses.” He said that he had seen no interest from state legislatures getting mobile sports betting up and running.
“They’ve shown zero urgency,” he said.
The lawmaker said that the Lottery’s role is to enforce legal compliance, not implement a system.
If the state doesn’t manage to launch a mobile sports betting platform before NFL season, players can always head to one of the live sportsbooks to place their bets.
