Best Casinos in West Virginia: All Five Casino Resorts, Ranked

West Virginia is one of the few states where you can play real-money casino games on your phone, legally, as long as you’re inside the state. The West Virginia Lottery licenses every app, and each one has to partner with one of the five casinos on this page, so the brand on your phone is tied to a floor you can actually walk onto. For how the law got here, read our guide to US gambling laws.

I’ve gone with the three that hold the lowest license numbers on the Lottery’s own list, which also happen to be the three at the top of our West Virginia guide. Bonus offers change every week, so check each operator’s site for the current one rather than trusting a number from anywhere else.

DraftKings

DraftKings holds license IGP 001 on the West Virginia Lottery’s list, and its interim license is dated July 7, 2020. The Lottery cleared it as a management services provider to Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, which made it the first online casino approved to launch in the state.

It’s the one I’d pick if Charles Town is your casino, because the app runs through the same property, so you’re playing with the house you already know. You do have to be physically inside West Virginia when you play.

BetMGM

BetMGM is on the list as BetMGM, LLC under the Roar Digital name, license IGP 002, with an interim license dated July 30, 2020. It’s the joint venture of MGM Resorts International and Entain, and in West Virginia it runs in conjunction with The Greenbrier.

That link is the reason I’d look at it first if The Greenbrier is your kind of night out. The app gives you Slots and Table Games from the same MGM family on all the nights you can’t make the long drive down to White Sulphur Springs.

Caesars Palace Online Casino

Caesars holds license IGP 004 through American Wagering, Inc., and Caesars Palace Online Casino opened to West Virginia players on August 16, 2023, when it launched in four US states and Ontario on the same day.

Play on the app earns Caesars Rewards, which you can redeem at more than 50 Caesars destinations, so it’s the one I’d choose if you’d rather your points ended up paying for a hotel room somewhere else entirely.

Here’s our list of the best casinos in West Virginia, side by side. The machine and table counts are the casinos’ own, read in September 2026, and the revenue column is the West Virginia Lottery’s figure for fiscal year 2025, which ended June 30, 2025.

How I Ranked Them

West Virginia only has five casinos, so this isn’t a matter of who made the cut. I ranked the best casinos in West Virginia on what a night there is actually like: the size of the gaming floor, what there is to do away from the tables, the hotel, and whether the place has something you can’t get anywhere else. That’s why The Greenbrier comes second despite its small floor, and why Wheeling beats Mountaineer on atmosphere even though Mountaineer has the bigger hotel.

No casino paid to be here. If you’re new to the games, our guides to how Slots work and Table Games cover the basics before you sit down.

• Five casinos: four racetrack casinos plus The Greenbrier, all regulated by the West Virginia Lottery.
• 4,440 terminals: the average number of machines available at the four racetracks as of June 30, 2025, per the Lottery.
• $283.2 million: Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races’ machine and table revenue in fiscal 2025, more than the other four combined.
• 21 years old: the minimum age on every casino floor in the state.
• 8,652 machines in bars: the limited video lottery terminals across 1,182 licensed retail establishments, which aren’t casinos at all.
• Two greyhound tracks: Wheeling Island and Mardi Gras, the only two live greyhound racing venues left in the United States.

Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races is the biggest casino in West Virginia by a distance, and the one I’d send you to first. The track opened in 1933, machines arrived in September 1997, and full Table Games followed on July 1, 2010. Penn Entertainment runs it, and Gaming and Leisure Properties owns the real estate.

The floor has more than 1,900 Slots, 74 Table Games and a live Poker room. The table list runs from Blackjack and Spanish 21 to Mini-Baccarat, Mississippi Stud and Pai-Gow Poker, and there’s electronic Roulette too. In fiscal 2025 the Lottery booked $262.2 million in machine revenue here and $21.0 million from the tables.

Racing, Rooms and Getting There

Live thoroughbred racing is the other half of the place, and the Charles Town Classic is worth $1,000,000. The hotel is The Inn at Charles Town, with 153 rooms, at 100 Hollywood Drive. It’s about 60 miles northwest of Washington, D.C., which is why I’d call it the best casino in West Virginia for anyone driving in from D.C. or Baltimore for a night, and the easiest one on this list to turn into a proper weekend with a race card in the afternoon.

The Casino Club at The Greenbrier is the most elegant casino in the state. Its own site calls it “America’s only private casino” and means it, because only guests and members get through the door. The resort in White Sulphur Springs was founded in 1778, and gaming began in October 2009, with the permanent Casino Club opening in 2010.

The floor is small, with 31 Table Games and more than 160 slot machines, plus a FanDuel Sportsbook. The catch is who gets in. The Casino Club is open only to registered overnight guests, to event attendees when more than 400 rooms are booked, and to members of the resort’s clubs, with the Golf & Tennis Club starting at $2,184 a year.

Rooms, the Bunker and the Dress Code

The resort has 710 guest rooms on 11,000 acres, and the tour of the Cold War bunker built for Congress, exposed by the Washington Post in 1992, is the most memorable thing I’ve done at any casino resort. Resort attire is required in the casino, the floor is non-smoking, and from Tuesday to Saturday at 10 p.m. the room stops for a champagne toast and “The Greenbrier Waltz.”

Ownership changed in 2026. Kennedy Lewis Investment Management now holds a 51% controlling interest in the new holding company, with the Justice family keeping 49%, and the West Virginia Lottery Commission approved the change in August 2026. It’s still the one I’d book for a special occasion.

Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack sits on an island in the middle of the Ohio River, about an hour southwest of Pittsburgh, and it is the most fun of the racetrack casinos. The track opened in 1937, Delaware North bought it in 1988, and machines arrived in September 1994.

There are more than 1,100 machines, and the High Limit Room has 77 of them, with denominations up to $100. The tables run from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday to Wednesday and until 4 a.m. Thursday to Saturday, and the Poker room stays open until 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Greyhounds, Rooms and Rewards

Wheeling is one of only two live greyhound tracks left in the United States, and the casino floor is raised some ten-and-one-half feet above the ground in case the river floods. The hotel has 151 rooms and there’s a showroom for concerts and comedy. Loyalty runs through Ember Rewards, which also covers Mardi Gras.

If you’re coming from Pittsburgh or Columbus, I’d pick it over Mountaineer for the atmosphere alone. Watching the dogs run from the bar with a drink, before heading back to the tables, is a night out you really can’t get anywhere else in the country.

Mountaineer Casino Resort in New Cumberland is the biggest resort of the racetrack casinos, with a 357-room hotel, about an hour from downtown Pittsburgh. The track opened as Waterford Park on May 19, 1951, and the casino followed in 1994. Century Casinos runs it and VICI Properties owns the land and buildings, a split that dates from 2019.

The gaming floor covers over 66,000 square feet, with about 1,000 slot machines and more than 25 Table Games, from Craps and Roulette to Let It Ride and Three Card Poker. The high-limit slot area has $10, $25 and $100 games, and there’s a Caesars Sportsbook.

Hours, Golf and Racing

The casino opens 8 a.m. to 4 a.m. Monday to Friday and stays open 24 hours on Saturday and Sunday, while the tables run 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday to Thursday and until 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Woodview, the resort’s 18-hole course, is the reason I’d book a summer weekend here, and thoroughbred racing runs on the same property.

Mardi Gras Casino and Resort is the Charleston area’s casino, 14 miles west of the capital just off the Cross Lanes exit of I-64. It opened in 1985 as Tri-State Greyhound Park, added table gaming in 2008 and its hotel in 2010, and Delaware North has owned it since 2018.

The floor covers 65,000 square feet, with more than 700 slot machines and 35 live Table Games, including Craps, Blackjack and Roulette. The Poker room deals cash games from noon to 3 a.m., Wednesday to Sunday.

Rooms and Racing

The hotel has 150 rooms, and all hotel guests must be 21 or older. Like Wheeling, it still races greyhounds. I’d call it the most relaxed casino on this list, the easy weeknight pick if you live in Charleston or Huntington, 36 miles to the west.

The biggest casino in West Virginia is Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races. It has the most Slots, with more than 1,900, alongside 74 tables, and in fiscal 2025 it took $283.2 million in machine and table revenue, per the West Virginia Lottery. Wheeling Island came second with $87.8 million.

Mountaineer followed on $80.3 million, then Mardi Gras on $56.5 million and The Greenbrier on $4.2 million, where combined gaming revenue fell 31.2% on the year. Mountaineer has the biggest hotel of the four racetracks, with 357 rooms, but The Greenbrier’s 710 dwarf them all.

The Numbers You’ll See Elsewhere

A lot of casino lists are out of date. You’ll see The Greenbrier with 320 Slots and more than 35 tables, close to the 320 Slots and 37 tables it had in 2020, while the resort now lists 31 tables and over 160 slot machines. One list even says the resort opened in 1858, when it was founded in 1778. Mardi Gras turns up with 900 Slots and 30 tables on 90,000 square feet, against its own 700-plus Slots, 35 tables and 65,000 square feet.

Charles Town gets 98 tables and more than 2,500 Slots on one list when Penn lists 74 tables and over 1,900 Slots, and Mountaineer still gets more than 1,500 Slots when its own site says about 1,000. If you want to know why the house keeps winning either way, read how casinos make money.

The best casinos in West Virginia are spread across four corners of the state, so the real question is which one is closest to you. Here’s how the drive shakes out from the nearest big cities.

Which Casino Is Closest to Washington, D.C.?

Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in the Eastern Panhandle is about 60 miles northwest of Washington, D.C., and Penn says it’s under an hour from D.C. and Baltimore. It’s the only West Virginia casino that works as a day trip from either city.

Which West Virginia Casino Is Closest to Pittsburgh?

Mountaineer and Wheeling Island, both in the Northern Panhandle. Mountaineer is about an hour from downtown Pittsburgh, and Wheeling Island is roughly an hour to the southwest of the city and about two hours east of Columbus, Ohio, so I’d pick on hotel size or greyhound racing rather than drive time.

Is There a Casino in Charleston, WV?

Not in the city itself. Mardi Gras Casino and Resort is the nearest, 14 miles west in Cross Lanes, and it’s also the West Virginia casino closest to Huntington. The Greenbrier is the other option in the south of the state, but only if you’re staying the night.

The one rule that never changes at a West Virginia casino is the age. You must be 21 or older to play, and the Delaware North casinos at Wheeling and Mardi Gras also require every hotel guest to be 21. Bring a photo ID. At Mountaineer you have to be 21 just to step into the gaming areas, not only to place a bet.

Hours, Smoking and Dress

Hours vary more than you’d think. Mountaineer closes from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. on weekdays and runs 24 hours on weekends, while the tables at Wheeling and Mountaineer close at 2 a.m. early in the week. Mountaineer’s floor has smoking and nonsmoking areas, and Wheeling’s High Limit slot room has both, but The Greenbrier is non-smoking throughout and asks for resort attire.

The Delaware North casinos also ban smart glasses and recording devices in their table areas, which is worth knowing before you walk in wearing a pair. And The Greenbrier won’t let you in at all unless you’re a guest, an event attendee or a member.

Loyalty Cards

Each casino has its own players’ club, and it’s worth joining before your first spin. Mardi Gras and Wheeling Island share Ember Rewards, Charles Town runs on PENN Play, The Greenbrier’s players’ club earns G-Rewards points, and Mountaineer pays out in Reward Dollars and Tier Points.

The West Virginia Lottery regulates every casino in the state, from the machines to the tables to the online apps. The four racetracks got video lottery machines under the Racetrack Video Lottery Act in 1994, and the Racetrack Table Games Act brought tables in fiscal 2008, once each county voted yes.

The Greenbrier and the Online Market

The Greenbrier plays by its own law. The Casino Act created historic resort gaming in fiscal 2010, after a local referendum, and it’s why a spa hotel sits alongside four racetracks on the Lottery’s books. Online casino play came in fiscal 2020 with House Bill 2934, which lets the racetrack casinos and the historic resort offer licensed interactive games.

The Machines in Bars Are Not Casinos

You’ll see video lottery machines in bars and clubs all over the state, and they aren’t casinos. The Lottery counted 8,652 limited video lottery terminals across 1,182 licensed retail establishments as of June 30, 2025, while the four racetracks averaged 4,440 terminals. There’s more on who can offer what in our guide to gambling in West Virginia.

If gambling stops being fun, 1-800-GAMBLER is West Virginia’s own helpline, and every casino on this list prints it on its site. The number is 1-800-426-2537, the service is free, and its helpline coordinators answer 24/7. The program has been helping West Virginians since 2000. Nationally, the National Council on Problem Gambling runs the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-MY-RESET, by call or text.

Self-Exclusion in West Virginia

The West Virginia Lottery runs a voluntary self-exclusion program. Signing up excludes you from all four racetrack casinos and The Greenbrier, and it covers the online gaming tied to them too. It can’t be undone on a whim, because getting off the list means filing a removal application that the Lottery Commission has to approve.

But the tool I trust most is the simplest one. I decide before I walk in exactly how much I’m willing to lose, take that much in cash and leave the cards at home. Our Responsible Gambling guide covers the warning signs and the rest of the tools.