2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29. Miscellaneous Boards and Officers › Article 22D. West Virginia Lottery Sports Wagering Act › §29-22D-21. Crimes and Penalties Related to Authorized Sports Wagering Operation

(a) A sports wagering licensee is guilty of unlawful operation and is guilty of a misdemeanor when:
(1) The licensee operates West Virginia Lottery sports wagering without authority of the commission to do so;
(2) The licensee operates West Virginia Lottery sports wagering in any location or by any manner that is not approved by the commission;
(3) The licensee knowingly conducts, carries on, operates, or allows any sports wagering to occur on premises or through any other device if equipment or material has been tampered with, or exposed to conditions in which it will be operated in a manner designed to deceive the public;
(4) The licensee employs an individual who does not hold a valid occupational license in a position for which a license is required or otherwise allows an individual to perform duties for which such license is required or continues to employ an individual after the employee’s occupational license is no longer valid;
(5) The licensee acts or employs another person to act as if he or she is not an agent or employee of the licensee in order to encourage participation in West Virginia Lottery sports wagering at the licensed gaming facility;
(6) The licensee knowingly permits an individual under the age of 21 to enter or remain in a designated gaming area or to engage in sports wagering at a licensed gaming facility; or
(7) The licensee exchanges tokens, chips, electronic media, or other forms of credit used for wagering for anything of value except money or credits applied to a sports wagering account at a gaming facility authorized under this article.
(b) A person is guilty of a felony when:
(1) A person offers, promises, or gives anything of value to anyone for the purpose of influencing the outcome of a race, sporting event, contest, or game upon which a wager may be made, or a person places, increases, or decreases a wager after acquiring knowledge, not available to the general public, that anyone has been offered, promised, or given anything of value for the purpose of influencing the outcome of the race, sporting event, contest, or game upon which the wager is placed, increased or decreased, or attempts to do any of the same;
(2) A person changes or alters the normal outcome of any game played on a mobile or other digital platform, including any interactive gaming system used to monitor the same or the way in which the outcome is reported to any participant in the game;
(3) The person manufactures, sells, or distributes any device that is intended by that person to be used to violate any provision of this article or the sports wagering laws of any other state;
(4) The person places a bet or aids any other individual in placing a bet on a sporting event or other sports wagering game or offering authorized under this article after unlawfully acquiring knowledge of the outcome on which winnings from that bet are contingent;
(5) The person claims, collects, or takes anything of value from a gaming facility with West Virginia Lottery sports wagering with intent to defraud or attempts such action without having made a wager in which such amount or value is legitimately won or owed;
(6) The person knowingly places a wager using counterfeit currency or other counterfeit form of credit for wagering at a gaming facility with West Virginia Lottery sports wagering; or
(7) The person, not a licensed gaming facility under this article or an employee or agent of a gaming facility licensed under this article acting in furtherance of the licensee’s interest, has in his or her possession on grounds owned by the gaming facility licensed under this article or on grounds contiguous to the licensed gaming facility, any device intended to be used to violate a provision of this article or any rule of the commission.
(c) Any person who violates any provision of §29-22D-21(a) of this code is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or confined in jail for not more than six months, or both fined and confined, except any violation that is not committed by a natural person may result in a fine of not more than $25,000.
(d) Any person who violates any provision of §29-22D-21(b) of this code is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $5,000 nor more than $10,000, or confined in a state correctional facility for not less than one year nor more than five years, or both fined and confined.
(e) With regard to §29-22D-21(a) of this code, each West Virginia sports wagering licensee shall post notice of the prohibitions and penalties of this section in a manner determined by the rules of the commission.