There’s no need to legalize daily fantasy sports in West Virginia, since the state already considers it a game of skills.
This was the answer that Attorney General Patrick Morrisey had in response to West Virginia Senate President Bill Cole’s query over the legality of DFS in the state.
A bit of recap: The state Senate passed legislation early this year that explicitly stated fantasy sports games with monetary payouts—including daily fantasy sports—were legal, but that bill was shot down by the House of Delegates. This prompted Cole to turn to Morrisey in order to clarify the legality of DFS given that games of chance like private lotteries are prohibited by West Virginia’s Constitution.
However, in a 14-page opinion released this week, Morrisey said certain “fantasy sports games are a bit different than games that are decided predominantly by chance.”