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Pole Position

W.Va. must take lead if betting is legalized

If the U.S. Supreme Court rules later this year to allow states to legalize betting on sports events, one thing is certain: It will be off to the races, with perhaps dozens of states rushing to get such wagering in place.

It would be nice for West Virginia to be in the pole position for that race.

Some analysts believe high court justices will permit states to adopt sports betting, as early as late spring. With many states already involved deeply in legalized gambling, it is a virtual certainty a substantial number will rush to cash in on the new revenue.

West Virginia House of Delegates member Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, introduced a bill last year to set the stage for sports betting. It was shelved.

Fluharty is back with the same idea this year and, on Tuesday, he received important support. Legislators were told the state Lottery Commission will introduce a bill to permit sports betting at gambling casinos.

“We hope to have a plan in West Virginia to take advantage of being first in the market, as we were with video lottery (at racetracks) and table games,” Lottery Commission lawyer Danielle Boyd told state senators.

Lottery commissioners were wise to take a first step last fall, when they awarded a contract for a study of sports betting and other types of internet wagering.

Some legislators and, no doubt, some of their constituents have moral compunctions about adding a new form of legalized gambling in our state. But West Virginians, both through the Legislature and at our polling places, already have approved multiple ways for people to hand their hard-earned money over to gambling interests. Sports betting would be no more than a new way for that to happen.

It also could bring in tens, perhaps even hundreds, of millions of dollars in new revenue for the state.

That would not last forever, as we are painfully aware. Though we held a regional monopoly on casino gambling for a few years, competition from surrounding states has eaten away at the easy money we enjoyed.

Still, passing up even a few years of revenue from sports betting would be foolish. Legislators should ensure that if the Supreme Court allows the race to begin, West Virginia can pull out to an early lead.

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