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Delegate Adam Burkhammer has introduced a pair of bills that would sharply increase gambling taxes in West Virginia.
Filed on January 16 and sent to the House Government Organization Committee, HB 4397 and HB 4398 both call for a 25% levy on operators’ gross revenue. HB 4397 would raise the iGaming rate from 15% to 25%, while HB 4398 seeks to lift the sportsbook tax rate from its current 10% to the same level.
West Virginia currently has the lowest iGaming rates
West Virginia is home to some of the lowest gambling taxes in the country. Sportsbooks pay 10% on revenue, while online casinos pay 15%, the lowest among the seven states with legal online gambling. Since sports betting started in 2018, that 10% tax has brought in about $72.5 million. In November 2025 alone, the state lottery collected $1.2 million from more than $52.7 million in bets.
Burkhammer’s bills would raise both rates to 25%. For sportsbooks, that’s a jump of 150%. For online casinos, it’s a 66% increase.
The proposals also add weekly reporting rules. Sportsbooks could carry losses forward, but refunds would still be calculated at the old 10% rate if a license is given up. Online casinos would follow the same weekly reporting system, but without the loss carry‑forward or refund option.
A national trend
West Virginia’s push for higher taxes is not isolated, as states have been raising gambling rates continuously in the past year.
Ohio doubled its rate from 10% to 20% in 2023, soon after launch, and a 2025 push to double it again didn’t pass. New Jersey also tried to increase its rate to 25% last year, but settled at 19.75% from July 1 for both sports betting and iGaming.
In Maryland, mobile sports betting was moved from 15% to 20%, below the 30% the governor first wanted, while Louisiana lifted its rate from 15% to 21.5%.
Illinois pushed things even further. After a 2024 shift to a tiered system that taxes bigger operators more, starting at 20% and topping out at 40%, lawmakers added a per‑bet fee: $0.25 for the first 20 million wagers each year, then $0.50 after that. The state saw more than a 15% year‑over‑year drop in bets in September and October.
Massachusetts was the first state to make a move in 2026, introducing a new bill to increase sports betting taxes to 51%. This would tie Massachusetts together with New Hampshire, New York, and Rhode Island as states with the highest rate in the country.
Source: SBCAmerica
