×
X logo

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox.

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)

You may opt-out anytime by clicking "unsubscribe" from the newsletter or from your account.

Lawmaker Says Governor Made Illegal Betting Deal

From Staff Reports

CHARLESTON — An Ohio County lawmaker has said West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice held an illegal meeting with state lottery representatives, sports leagues and casino owners about fees associated with a proposed sports wagering law.

“It’s absolutely absurd,” said Delegate Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, about the meeting Justice promoted Thursday in a statement the governor released. “The governor held a backroom, closed-door meeting for seven hours. He invited the professional sports leagues, which include his billionaire buddies.

“In my opinion, it was an illegal meeting,” he said. “I believe it is a clear violation of the open meetings law in West Virginia.”

Justice said in the statement that casinos will be responsible for paying sports betting “integrity fees” if wagering ultimately is allowed in West Virginia. The deal, which the governor said was made Wednesday, would make casinos pay for those fees.

“I insisted from day one that no part of an integrity fee for sports betting would be paid by the state,” said Justice in the statement. “I demanded that the entire fee be paid by the casinos.”

Representatives of the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball had been lobbying for a 1 percent “integrity tax” on the handle taken in by sports betting in the state. That means they would get $1 for every $100 bet made.

But Fluharty said if the governor has made a deal with casino owners to pay those fees, he’s gone about it the wrong way.

“I am looking at potentially filing an action in Kanawha County Circuit Court for a violation of the open meetings law,” he said. “Everybody was invited but the public.”

In March, Republican leadership in the Senate said it was “highly unlikely” there will be a special session to make changes to the sports betting measure, which appeared to be necessary to reopen the discussion on integrity fees. At that time, Senate Majority Whip Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, said nobody at the Legislature felt the state owed the NBA or MLB 1 percent of the handle.

Fluharty said Thursday that is still the case.

“There is no support in the Legislature to send money from our state to these professional sports leagues,” he said. “The governor is not a king. We have a legislative process that he is attempting to bypass.

“The leagues are afraid that other states will not have an integrity fee,” said Fluharty. “That’s why they are pressing so hard for West Virginia to have one.”

Fluharty championed sports betting measures in the state House during sessions earlier this year. He has said he was happy with the measure the state approved. As currently written, the bill would give the state 10 percent of the net profits casinos take in on sports betting, and the lawmakers said this could be revisited in the coming years to determine if the state’s share of the revenue is fair. Nevada’s take is 16 percent.

Although sports betting is the law in West Virigina, the U.S. Supreme Court is still deciding if those laws are legal. Fluharty said that issue is a detail rather than a roadblock.

“It is officially law in West Virginia.,” he said. “The casinos are getting ready to go. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on it soon.”

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.73/week.

Subscribe Today