NoticeWest VirginiaUpdated
How We Rate West Virginia Casino Sites: Criteria, Weights and Evidence
This page sets out the method in full: one gate, six weighted criteria and the evidence each one rests on. No scores are published yet, and the page explains why.
01Section
What is the method in short?
The method is short and public. One criterion is a gate rather than a weight: a brand that cannot be matched to the state register is not scored at all. The other six criteria add up to 100 points, and that total divided by ten gives a score out of 10.
The scoring looks at what an operator commits to in writing and at what any player can see: the terms page, the cashier's stated limits and times, the app store listing and the responsible gambling tools. The size of a headline bonus earns no points.
The arithmetic explains why. A $1,000 bonus at 35x asks for $35,000 in bets, while a $250 bonus at 10x asks for $2,500. The first looks larger and costs far more to clear, so the terms are scored and the headline number is not.
02Section
Which criteria count, and how much?
Fig. 1Criteria and weights
Show the table: Criteria and weights (7 rows)
| Criterion | Weight | What is looked at |
|---|---|---|
| License matched to the state register | Gate | Number, licensee and brand agree with the regulator's list. No match, no score. |
| Offer terms and wagering | 25 | Wagering multiple, what it applies to, game contribution, expiry, maximum bet, and whether every field is stated. |
| Stated payout processing | 20 | Processing time the cashier states per method, any pending period, and any withdrawal fee. |
| Payment methods and limits | 15 | Range of deposit and withdrawal methods, with minimums and maximums as listed. |
| App and geolocation | 15 | Which platforms have an app, the permissions it asks for, and how it explains the location check. |
| Game library | 15 | Breadth across slots, table games and video poker, and whether game rules and return figures are published. |
| Responsible gambling tools | 10 | Limits and time-outs the account offers, and a visible route to the state's Voluntary Exclusion Program. |
The six weights add up to 100 (25 + 20 + 15 + 15 + 15 + 10). The gate carries no points.
03Section
Why is the license a gate and not a score?
A license is a yes-or-no fact, not a matter of degree. West Virginia law requires an operator of interactive gaming to hold a license, and the West Virginia Lottery publishes the list of licensed brands.12 A brand that is not on that list is outside the scope of the site's scoring, however polished its website.
Matching means three things agree: the license number, the licensee's name and the brand name. The date the list was read is printed next to the result, so a reader can see how current the match is.
04Section
What does each criterion measure?
Read on: Offer terms and wagering (25); Stated payout processing (20) and four more
Offer terms and wagering (25)
This is the heaviest criterion because the terms decide what an offer is worth. The points go to clarity and completeness: the wagering multiple, which part of the money it applies to, how games contribute, the expiry, the maximum bet, and whether each of those is stated at all. A missing field costs points, because a player cannot plan around a number that is not published.
Stated payout processing (20)
This looks at the processing time the cashier states for each method, any pending period before a withdrawal is released, and any fee. The measure is what the operator states, not what an individual player reports, so a claim can be traced to a page and a date.
Payment methods and limits (15)
The range of deposit and withdrawal methods counts, together with the minimum and maximum amounts as listed. A method without a stated limit is recorded as incomplete rather than guessed.
App and geolocation (15)
Online wagering in West Virginia is limited to people physically in the state, so the location check is part of every session.2 The criterion records which platforms have an app, the permissions it asks for, and how it explains the location check to the player.
Game library (15)
Breadth across slots, table games and video poker counts, and so does whether game rules and return figures are published. A large catalog with no published rules scores below a smaller one that explains itself. The rules and payout information West Virginia requires a game to display are set out in the guide to casino games and the state's rules.
Responsible gambling tools (10)
The account's limits and time-outs count, and so does a visible route to the state's Voluntary Exclusion Program. Details of the program are on the responsible gambling page.
05Section
What evidence is recorded for a score?
Every fact behind a score is tied to a source: the operator's own terms page, cashier or app listing, or an official page from the regulator or the law. Third-party comparison sites are never used as a source of fact.
For each fact the record holds the source address, what the page said, and the date it was read. A fact that cannot be found on an official or operator page is recorded as not stated, and it is scored as not stated.
Terms change, so a fact is only as good as its date. A score that rests on a fact that has not been re-read recently would be marked as such rather than presented as current.
06Section
What is the difference between a read date and an updated date?
Two dates appear on the site and they mean different things. A source's read date is the day a specific page was opened and its content recorded. It appears with the source in the notes of the page.
The page's updated date is the day the page was last reviewed and its facts re-verified. It moves only after a genuine review, not when a typo is fixed and not to make a page look fresh.
So a page can show an updated date of October 28, 2026 while one of its sources carries an earlier read date. That is expected: it means the source was read once and the page was reviewed later. A source never carries a later read date than the page's updated date.
07Section
Why are no scores shown yet?
No score is shown until the facts behind it are recorded and checked. That condition has not been met for any operator yet, so the site publishes the register facts, such as license numbers and licensees, and leaves the score out.
A number without a record behind it would look precise and prove nothing. The scores will appear only when each criterion for an operator can be traced to a dated source.
Tie-breaking and how a score is recalculated when a source changes will be published together with the first scores. They are not stated here because they have not been decided and published yet.
08Section
Is the order of the operator list a rating?
No. The operators shown on the homepage, and the order they appear in, are chosen for commercial reasons. The order is not a rating, not a ranking by quality and not the result of a test.
The list is labeled as the listed order for that reason, with position numbers and no scores or stars. The commercial side is explained on the advertising disclosure page, including how links are marked.
When scores are published, they will be shown as scores, with the method on this page, and the commercial order will still be disclosed separately.
StatusNo scores are published yet. Tie-breaking and recalculation rules will be published with the first scores.
09Section
Questions about how we rate
What is the license gate?
It is a yes-or-no check before any scoring. A brand must match the West Virginia Lottery's license list on number, licensee and brand name. A brand that does not match is not scored at all.
Which criteria carry the most weight?
Offer terms and wagering carry the most, at 25 points, because the terms decide what an offer is worth. Stated payout processing follows at 20. The six weights add up to 100.
Does a bigger bonus earn a higher score?
No. The size of a headline bonus earns no points. A $1,000 bonus at 35x asks for $35,000 in bets, while a $250 bonus at 10x asks for $2,500, so the terms are scored and the headline number is not.
Why are no scores published yet?
A score is shown only when the facts behind it are recorded and checked against a dated source. That has not been done for any operator yet, so the site publishes register facts and leaves the score out.
Is the order of the operator list a rating?
No. The order is chosen for commercial reasons and is not a rating or a test result. The advertising disclosure explains it.
10Section
Read next
Sources
Numbered notes in the text link here; each entry names its publisher and the date it was read.
Sources (2): publisher and date read for each
- 1West Virginia Lottery Interactive Wagering Act, W. Va. Code Article 29-22EWest Virginia Legislature · read October 26, 2026back to text
- 2W. Va. Code section 29-22E-15, authorization of interactive wageringWest Virginia Legislature · read October 26, 2026back to text