West Virginia finally has its first online poker room — but it might be a one-room show for the foreseeable future.
On June 10, BetRivers Poker officially launched in the Mountain State, making it the first and only operator to bring real money online poker to West Virginia more than five years after it was legalized.
The launch is part of a larger rollout by BetRivers Poker, which simultaneously went live in Michigan and Delaware, and created a shared liquidity network connecting four states: West Virginia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
With the addition of West Virginia, just six states now have regulated online poker in the US: Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Delaware, and now West Virginia.
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We look forward to participating in this multi-state game. Many customers have asked that we offer this product, and we are happy that it is now available.
To mark the occasion, we reached out to the West Virginia Lottery to ask whether any other operators had plans to follow BetRivers’ lead. The regulator told us there are currently no other operators lined up to launch online poker in the state.
They didn’t rule it out completely, however. The sense is that regulators and other operators will be watching closely to see how BetRivers performs in the coming months. If the offering gains traction, others may be encouraged to enter the market — but that’s a big “if.”
In a formal statement following the launch, a West Virginia Lottery official said, “We look forward to participating in this multi-state game,” John Myers, Director of the West Virginia Lottery, told pokerfuse. “Many customers have asked that we offer this product, and we are happy that it is now available.”
Long Wait for Legal Online Poker in WV
That customer demand is real. West Virginians have been waiting a long time for online poker to arrive. The product was legalized way back in 2019, but no operator stepped up, largely due to the state’s small population and the lack of shared liquidity. For a game like poker, where player traffic is crucial, being siloed off in a low-population state was never going to be viable.
That changed when West Virginia joined the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) in late 2023, giving operators the ability to link player pools with other states. Still, nearly two years passed before anyone made a move. That BetRivers Poker is first is a credit to its expansion strategy and its willingness to invest in the long-term growth of online poker.
The operator is expected to go live in New Jersey later this year, which would expand its network to five states, finally putting it on a more level playing field with well-established operators such as PokerStars, WSOP and BetMGM Poker, the three dominant multi-state operators in the US market.
Who Else Besides BetRivers Poker in WV?
So who else might launch in West Virginia — if anyone?
The most likely candidate is BetMGM Poker. In fact, the operator publicly supported West Virginia’s entry into MSIGA nearly two years ago, signaling its interest in launching online poker in WV.
“We applaud the regulators and support the continued expansion of online poker in the United States. It’s a great way to get more players engaged,” BetMGM’s then-Director of Poker, Luke Staudenmaier, told pokerfuse at the time.
The brand already offers online casino games in West Virginia, so the groundwork is in place. That makes its absence in the online poker space all the more surprising. Notably, BetMGM has also yet to launch in Nevada, another state with legal online poker, suggesting poker may not be a current priority for the operator.
PokerStars is another possible entrant. It, too, welcomed West Virginia’s decision to join the compact. However, their US operations appear to be scaling back for now. The company recently halted efforts to connect its Pennsylvania player pool with its existing Michigan–New Jersey shared network. One possible explanation is the impending integration of FanDuel with PokerStars, which shares a parent company with PokerStars and could be affecting priorities.
Then there’s WSOP, which has now been acquired by GGPoker’s parent company. As part of that transition, WSOP Online operations, which remain under Caesars, are not expected to expand into any new states in the near term. That could change down the road, but it is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
For now, though, BetRivers Poker will have the West Virginia online poker market to itself. So far, the operator appears to be doing everything right. The product includes full support for cash games, tournaments, sit & gos, and jackpot-style games.
Tournament guarantees are increasing every week, with plenty of promotions running, including some new ones. Players also get access to the iRush Rewards program and a generous welcome bonus that even existing BetRivers customers can claim.
But success in West Virginia will hinge on one thing: liquidity. With shared player pools across four states and likely five by the end of the year, BetRivers has a real shot at creating a stable ecosystem, but whether that will be enough to keep traffic healthy and players engaged remains to be seen.
If the numbers hold up and the player base grows, other operators may take another look at West Virginia. Until then, BetRivers Poker stands alone.
