An emergency rule is set to be submitted by the West Virginia state Lottery Commission later this month to the Secretary of State presiding over the West Virginia igaming establishment.
Having been approved last week by the Lottery Commision, the 39-page emergency rule is set to be replaced by a permanent rule later this year prior to gaining final approval in next year’s legislative session. As was reported by MetroNews, It is currently expected to be later in 2021 when actual betting takes place.
That said, State Lottery Director John Myers has confirmed that the emergency rule could yet experience more changes following both a public comment period, scheduled for summer 2020, and a legislative review in next year’s session.
The rule includes other provisions included in sports betting such as one which gives the lottery commission the ability and power to grant interim licenses to vendors for up to 270 days while full vetting is taking place.
Myers also revealed that the rule includes three pages of civil penalties that can be applied to anyone who breaks the law, with the State Lottery Director stating: “Hopefully this can act as a deterrent to any type of that activity.”
In addition to this, the rule also accounts for personal information breaches regarding players.
In an interview with MetroNews, Myers discussed his expectations regarding the future of igaming, with the director citing that he expects the industry facet to start up quicker and register similar revenues to that of sports betting
He added: “The tax rate is 15% in igaming and 10% in sports wagering but with the number of people we have I expect the same revenue generation.
“The initial build-out of the igaming system – they can almost take the new games, which will come in a suite and they can lay that right on top of a sports wagering-type of platform.
“It’s not going to be as labor intensive or to take as long to get out as sports wagering.”