Server issues and the provisions of the Wire Act have delayed the return of mobile betting to West Virginia, the state Lottery announced earlier this week
DraftKings was expected to launch its mobile betting app in partnership with Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races last week. The gambling venue, the largest of West Virginia’s five land-based casinos, went live with retail betting last August.
The property’s parent company, Penn National Gaming, and DraftKings entered into agreement for the latter to launch an online and mobile sportsbook with Hollywood Casino early this year.
The West Virginia Lottery, the state-run body responsible for regulating the local gambling industry, announced last month that the DraftKings digital sportsbook has passed all the necessary tests and was ready for a soft launch, which was expected to happen sometime last week.
The Lottery’s Director, John Myers, said in a statement issued on Wednesday on the official website of the agency that the launch of the app has been delayed to “ensure compliance with the Federal Wire Act.”
The Lottery’s statement further read that the “physical location” of DraftKings’ servers have prompted the company and its West Virginia partner to move forward cautiously.
Wallet Server Delays Mobile Betting App
While DraftKings’ main server is located within West Virginia, it turned out that a secondary server, which is located outside the state, is causing the delay. West Virginia gambling portal PlayWV explains that this secondary server is responsible for determining if a gambler has enough funds in their account to place bets with DraftKings’ mobile app.
The company’s secondary server, or wallet server, is located in New Jersey. Under the Federal Wire Act of 1961, which prohibits interstate gambling, online gambling data should only be transmitted within a state’s borders.
While moving data trough DraftKings’ secondary server would not constitute sports betting across state borders, the company and its West Virginia partner have decided to approach the matter with extra caution.
When Is DraftKings Launching Its WV Mobile App?
DraftKings will now have to build its secondary server in West Virginia. This will certainly take time, which means that local gamblers will not be able to place bets via their smartphones in the immediate future.
Commenting on when they expect the app to go live, Mr. Myers told local news outlet the Charleston Gazette-Mail that “it could be football season before they get that built.”
A spokesperson for DraftKings has told media that they do not have “any firm date yet on next steps, including a soft launch or a full public launch in West Virginia.”
In a statement on the West Virginia Lottery website, Mr. Myers said that they all want to “proceed the right way” His statement reads further:
The construction of the network and the mobile app involves many parties and can affect the operations of other jurisdictions. The Lottery wants to see a successful launch as soon as possible, but we must make sure that the citizens of West Virginia and our employees are not put at risk. We are working closely with the parties involved, however it will take time to build the system.
Delaware North Still Looking for a Betting Partner
Digital betting originally went live in West Virginia late last year when Delaware North’s Mardi Gras Casino & Resort and Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack launched the BetLucky.com website and the accompanying app.
However, the operation abruptly shut down on March 6 and never came back. Delaware North began shedding details about what had caused the blackout in the following weeks. It became clear that the app and the website were shut down due to a dispute between Delaware North’s betting partner – Miomni Gaming – and a third-party provider of a sports betting platform.
In March, Delaware North confirmed that it has cut ties with Miomni and that it has begun looking for a new betting partner to resume digital betting operations as soon as possible. In April, the casino operator said that it has lodged a lawsuit against the betting provider for keeping it in the dark about the ongoing issues that eventually resulted in the BetLucky app’s shutdown.
Mr. Myers has told local media that Delaware North’s betting app outperformed its retail business, so the abrupt stop of the operation came as a big hit to West Virginia’s regulated sports betting market.
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