West Virginia guv sows confusion with talk of sports bet fee deal

Confusion reigns in West Virginia after the governor erroneously claimed a deal had been reached to pay a “sports consortium” a cut of sports betting handle.

On Wednesday, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice convened a meeting with his state’s casino operators, reps from pro sports leagues (NBA, MLB, NHL and the PGA) and the state’s two NCAA Division I universities. According to WV Metro News, the discussion centered around the leagues’ pursuit of a sports betting ‘integrity fee’, i.e. a cut of legal wagering handle that would ostensibly fund anti-fixing monitoring.

The state legislature approved a sports betting bill in February that adamantly rejected giving sports leagues a cut of wagering handle, but recent weeks saw Gov. Justice suggest convening a special legislative session to tinker with the legislation to incorporate an integrity fee.

On Thursday morning, Justice’s office issued a statement claiming a “tentative agreement” had been reached that would see casino operators pay the integrity fee rather than the state. The statement went on to say that WV Lottery director Alan Larrick “will be working on ways to implement the integrity fee and will determine what, if any, legislation is needed for codification.”