Lawmaker itching to legalize sports betting in West Virginia

The surprise decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to hear arguments in a case that aims to legalize sports betting has given lawmakers a renewed hope to introduce a pro-sports betting bill in West Virginia.

Democratic Delegate Shawn Fluharty of Ohio believes that allowing sports betting will provide additional revenue for the cash-strapped state and the developments in the Supreme Court is a welcome news for the legislators, according to Charleston Gazette-Mail.

Fluharty, who have sponsored a bill to legalize sports betting at West Virginia’s casinos during the 2017 regular session, wants to get ahead in other neighboring states in allowing sports betting like what they did when West Virginia allowed racetrack video lottery in the early 1990s and table games in the early 2000s.

“If we’re able to get in front of this, we might be able to get out ahead of the other states for a few years,” Fluharty said. “The state desperately needs to generate new revenue.”