West Virginia Lawmaker Wants to Raise Sportsbook and iGaming Tax to 25%
A West Virginia lawmaker has introduced two companion bills that would significantly increase gambling taxes in the state, raising both sportsbook and online casino rates to 25%.
Delegate Adam Burkhammer filed House Bill 4398 and House Bill 4397 on January 16. HB 4398 would increase the state’s sportsbook tax rate from 10% to 25%. Meanwhile, HB 4397 proposes raising the iGaming rate from 15% to the same level.
HB 4398 would also require sportsbook operators to submit weekly tax reports and payments. The legislation would allow operators to carry forward weekly losses.
However, they generally can’t get refunds unless they fully surrender their license. In that case, the bill still calculates refunds at a 10% rate. This provision appears not to have been updated to reflect the proposed increase.
HB 4397 adopts a similar weekly reporting and payment structure for online casinos. However, it does not include the same loss carry-forward or surrender-refund language.
Both bills are currently before the House Local Government Committee.
Extremely Low Current Rates
The current 10% sportsbook tax rate in West Virginia is one of the lowest in the country. The only states below this level for online operators are Indiana at 9.5%, Michigan at an effective rate of 8.4%, and Iowa and Nevada, which tie for the lowest at 6.75%.
It contrasts starkly with the 51% level in New Hampshire, New York, and Rhode Island.
In iGaming, West Virginia’s 15% rate is lower than that of the other six states with online casinos. Increasing this tax rate would generate more tax revenue for state coffers.
West Virginia moved early to embrace online gambling. Lawmakers legalized sports betting in March 2018, two months before the Supreme Court ended the federal ban on the activity. It launched retail sportsbooks in August 2018, with online platforms following that December.
Following the Example of Others
Lawmakers in several states have increased gambling taxes in recent years, as they continue to reap the benefits from the popularity of sportsbooks and online casinos.
New Jersey, one of the most mature markets, was a notable one in 2025. It tried raising gambling taxes to 25% before settling on 19.75%, effective as of July 1, 2025, for both iGaming and sportsbooks.
In Illinois, lawmakers approved a contentious levy on every sports bet in the state. This is $0.25 for the first 20 million wagers in a calendar year, rising to $0.50 thereafter. In September and October, the state saw an over 15% year-on-year drop in bets.
The per-bet tax followed a 2024 hike, when Illinois introduced a tiered structure that taxes larger sportsbook operators at a higher rate. The sliding scale starts at 20% and goes up to 40%, from the original flat 15% rate when the state legalized sports betting in 2019.
Last year, Maryland and Louisiana also raised their taxes. Maryland approved raising the mobile sports betting levy from 15% to 20%. That was lower than the 30% Gov. Wes Moore was initially calling for. In Louisiana, lawmakers approved a rise from 15% to 21.5%.
Elsewhere, Ohio doubled its sports betting tax from 10% to 20% in 2023, only months after the regulated market launched. Gov. Mike DeWine called for doubling the new rate again in 2025, but lawmakers rejected the idea.
Other states are considering similar tax increases in 2026. A new bill in Massachusetts aims to drastically increase the sportsbook tax from 20% to 51%, making it the joint-highest in the country.
As more states raise gaming taxes once markets are established, West Virginia now faces a choice between preserving its low-tax regime or boosting its coffers with a rate hike.
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