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Major professional sports leagues and players’ unions are calling for more states to bar sports bettors who threaten athletes, and West Virginia is already listed among the states using that kind of enforcement tool.
In a joint statement released Tuesday, the groups urged 35 states and Washington, D.C., to adopt sports betting bans for people who direct threats at athletes over lost wagers. The statement said those threats "cross a bright ethical and criminal line." According to the report, West Virginia, Ohio, Wyoming, and Louisiana already maintain blacklists that can exclude such individuals from sportsbooks and mobile betting apps.
West Virginia named among states with blacklist measures
The source does not detail how West Virginia’s blacklist process works or which agency oversees it. But it does identify the state as one of four with existing measures aimed at keeping people who threaten athletes off regulated betting platforms.
That makes West Virginia part of a smaller group of jurisdictions already cited as taking action in this area, while leagues and unions push for broader adoption elsewhere. The report says Ohio was the first state to implement such measures in 2023.
Leagues and unions want wider action across legal betting states
The joint appeal reflects growing concern about gambling-related harassment as legal sports betting continues to expand. The article says sports betting is legalized in some form in 39 states and Washington, D.C.
The NCAA has also raised concerns about the effect of sports betting on both student-athletes and competition integrity, according to the report.
For West Virginia bettors, the main takeaway is that athlete harassment tied to wagers is being treated not just as bad behavior, but as conduct that can lead to exclusion from regulated sportsbooks. No new West Virginia-specific policy change was reported in the source, but the state was named as already having restrictions of that kind in place.
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Source: As reported by foxsports1070.iheart.com.
