Responsible Gambling in West Virginia: Help, Self-Exclusion and Tools

A person placing an interactive wager in West Virginia must be at least 21 years of age, and online wagering is accepted from people physically located in the state.¹ Gambling is meant to be entertainment, and a person who is under the age limit should not gamble at all.

The state operates the system through the West Virginia Lottery, which licenses the operators. The Lottery says it has been committed to responsible game play since its start in 1985 and provides up to $2 million a year from Lottery revenues to state compulsive gambling programs.²

The West Virginia Problem Gambling Help Network is reached at 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537). The network states that its helpline coordinators are available 24 hours a day, and that all of its services are free.³

According to the West Virginia Lottery, help includes counseling from licensed therapists, peer support, self-help, National Council resources and support groups. West Virginia residents are eligible for problem gambling treatment at no cost and can be referred directly to experienced counselors through the helpline.²

The network has operated since 2000, and it says it offers crisis counseling, treatment and resources.³ It also offers a free recovery support app called Connections, with peer support available around the clock.³ The program is run by First Choice Services.²

Outside the state's own network, the National Council on Problem Gambling lists the National Problem Gambling Helpline as 1-800-MY-RESET, reachable by call, text or online chat.⁴

The state network says that the loved ones of a person with a gambling problem are often affected as much as the gambler, and that it offers support and guidance to families.³

The West Virginia Lottery adds that people experiencing problems because of a loved one's gambling can be connected to peer advocacy specialists through the helpline.² The network's site also has a section for loved ones.³

The Voluntary Exclusion Program lets a person exclude themselves from gambling in West Virginia on their own request. By requesting it, the person accepts that they are excluding themselves from all activities at all four West Virginia racetracks and casinos and at The Historic Greenbrier Casino, all regulated by the West Virginia Lottery.⁵

The exclusion also applies to mobile applications and online gaming associated with the West Virginia Lottery.⁵ That is the part that matters for online casinos in the state.

The Lottery places the person's name on its list of excluded persons under its table games and limited gaming facility rules.⁵ State law adds that a person on the commission's exclusion list may not wager on West Virginia Lottery interactive wagering.¹

No. The Lottery runs a separate exclusion for the iPlay West Virginia account. It can be temporary or permanent, and it blocks signing in to the iPlay account for PlayOn, second-chance drawings, promotional activities and iPlay services.⁵

The Lottery notes that an iPlay self-exclusion does not exclude the player from sports betting, iGaming, LVL and casino activities. Those must be excluded through the Voluntary Exclusion Program.⁵ An iPlay exclusion cannot be reversed.⁵

For the iPlay account only, the Lottery lists these steps. They do not cover online casinos.

The Lottery has a separate Self-Exclusion Removal Application for people who want to be removed from the list. It says the person should review and fully understand the terms before applying.⁵

The Lottery Commission reviews the application and determines whether to approve removal based on the established rules and the person's compliance with the terms.⁵ Removal is therefore a decision of the Lottery, not an automatic result of asking.

The West Virginia Lottery says it has set guidelines with its casinos and mobile apps for responsible gaming and for the marketing of its games.² The Lottery's own iPlay account offers responsible gaming tools to set an exclusion period, as described above.⁵

In general terms, a licensed account is expected to give the player ways to limit their play, such as deposit limits and time-outs, and a route to the state's exclusion program. This site records which of these an operator offers as one of its criteria, as set out on How We Rate. Operator-by-operator findings are published only once they are recorded and dated.

The operator list on this site is advertising, and its order is commercial. That is explained on the advertising disclosure page.

Nothing on this site is an invitation to gamble more than is comfortable. If gambling stops being fun, call 1-800-GAMBLER.