Sports betting was legalized in West Virginia in May 2018, making it one of the first states to do so, but the first official bet was in August 2018 in the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town. The Supreme Court issued a ruling effectively overturning the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992, which had prohibited sports betting in most states. PASPA Overturned & Sports Betting Legalized The fight for the legalization of sports betting started in 2017 when the state of West Virginia tried to negotiate the wide acceptance of online sports gambling by taking the example of New Jersey, but with no success.