Almost two years after jumping into the online sports betting market, West Virginia online casino games finally appeared to enhance a Las Vegas-like experience from at home in Appalachia.
DraftKings WV and BetMGM have both introduced casino games within their sportsbook apps that can be played in West Virginia.
We took a look at both apps to get a better idea of which is better and who will end up the leader of the pack. Fortunately, there is room for both if you want them. The DraftKings casino games have a heavy emphasis on blackjack, while MGM’s games are more heavily tilted toward the slots.
DraftKings WV online casino games
DraftKings offers a total of 18 games — 13 varieties of blackjack, four roulette games, and one WV slot game.
Blackjack
- Blackjack
- Multi-hand Blackjack
- Classic Blackjack
- Baseball Blackjack
- Basketball Blackjack
- Football Blackjack
- Hockey Blackjack
- Lunar New Year Blackjack
- Pride Blackjack
- Retro Blackjack
- Soccer Blackjack
- Touchdown Blackjack
- Single-Hand Blackjack
Though that appears to be a formidable list of options, most of the differences between the games are cosmetic. For instance, the different sporting options are simply choices in how your blackjack table is designed — you can play on a baseball diamond or hockey rink, but it’s still regular blackjack.
There are a couple of exceptions.
Single-hand blackjack has you and the dealer playing from only one deck of cards.
Multi-hand blackjack goes in the opposite direction. You can bet on as many as seven hands against the dealer, who has only one. If you live under the mantra “go big or go home,” this is the game for you. There is an opportunity to win big or lose big with each hand — I played long enough to do both.
The one game with a twist is Touchdown Blackjack, in which each winning hand “drives you down the field” until you get a bonus for scoring a touchdown.
Roulette
- American Roulette
- Basketball Roulette
- European Roulette
- Touchdown Roulette
Touchdown Roulette abides by the same principles as Touchdown Blackjack.
Slots
The lone slot offering in the DraftKings lineup is 2 Tribes. So, if you’re a slot person, you’ll want MGM.
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BetMGM WV online casino games
BetMGM offers 21 total games — six table games and 15 slots with varied jackpots.
Table
- Blackjack Pro
- Blackjack
- American Roulette
- Black and Yellow Roulette
- European Roulette Pro
- Luck o’ the Roulette
Black and Yellow Roulette is a variety of European Roulette, which has 37 numbers rather than the 38 of the American version.
Slots
- Fire Drake
- Sweet Hawaii
- Loot En Khamun
- Melon Madness
- Dragon’s Hoard
- Luck o’ the Jackpot
- Mega Bars
- The Win Genie
- Fruit Blaster
- Spin and Win
- Book of Myths
- MGM Grand Millions
- Champagne Super Cloner
- Loot En Khamun: Dead Sea Scrolls
- Spin Bandit
- $50 on the House
- 100% Match up to $2,500 + 50 Bonus Spins on Deposit
- 21+. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER
- Use Bonus Code: CASINOPICK
DraftKings vs. BetMGM: Banking options
Both platforms offer a variety of ways to pay.
With DraftKings, you can use:
- Credit or debit
- Online banking
- PayPal
- VIP Preferred e-check
- Play prepaid card
- Wire transfer
- Cash, via barcode, at participating Family Dollar, Dollar General, CVS and 7-Eleven stores
On BetMGM you can deposit with all of the same options. The biggest difference is that BetMGM offers different bonuses depending on which service you choose, including ones specific to Discover, Visa and Mastercard if you’re using a credit card.
DraftKings vs. BetMGM: Which WV sportsbook reigns supreme
MGM is a traditional casino operation, while DraftKings got its start in the world of daily fantasy sports. Given those differences, you might think the BetMGM app would have a slight edge.
Wrong. And it’s not even close.
BetMGM’s app is buggier than a Louisiana swamp in mid-August.
Over a span of four days, the app froze every single time I attempted to play one of the casino games. I tested every other app on the phone to be certain it was not a phone or iOS issue. None of them had any issues. But every time I tapped to play a casino game on BetMGM, a wheel spun and nothing happened.
Even if this problem was not prevalent, DraftKings simply has a more user-friendly feel. Every time you open BetMGM, you have to log in. DraftKings, on the other hand, has Face ID enabled. This is a minor convenience, to be certain, but it adds to the sense that MGM’s app is just slapped together without much care.
If you are the type of person who likes the strategy of blackjack over the pure chance of slots, DraftKings was already a better offering. With the glitches of BetMGM thrown into the mix, it’s a no-brainer as to which service offers a better playing experience.
