What’s the Deal with Gas Station Slot Machines? 2024

What is a Gas Station Slot Machine

There are two main types of retail slots throughout the US. Some states like West Virginia have legal and licensed slot machines in gas stations and other retail locations around the state that are essentially identical to those found in real casinos, making the term gas station casino a thing.

The other type of slot often found in retail environments are skill-based games, currently found in states like Pennsylvania and Virginia, although they were outlawed in West Virginia in 2001.

So, when we refer to gas station slots in West Virginia, we mean any retail slot that is a licensed and regulated Limited Video Lottery terminal, which operates almost exactly like a traditional slot. However, in the context of Pennsylvania or Virginia slots, gas station slots usually mean skill-based slots, which require the player to identify the winning payline in order to claim their prize.

How Popular Are Gas Station Slots?

It’s no secret that gas station slot machines are popular with both owners and patrons, with the terminals popping up seemingly everywhere. So long as a retail location can meet the guidelines set out by the State, they can create adult-restricted areas within regular settings, such as gas stations and restaurants.

While these slots are very common, the West Virginia Limited Video Lottery Act of 2001 decided that no more than 9,000 Limited Video Lottery terminals were to be in operation, with no single entity operating more than 7.5% of the total allocation.

The number of total slots in operation isn’t currently published, but with each location being permitted to a maximum of between five and 10 machines, there are likely well over 1,000 locations with these slots, and West Virginia is the 10th smallest state in the country. That’s quite a spread!

The slots are seeing some action, too, with the FY 2022/2023 seeing revenues of over $453 million, coming in a close second to racetrack VLTs, which generated revenues in excess of $457 million. These numbers widely surpass any other type of WV Lottery product, proving they are a valuable asset to the state lottery program.

How Do Gas Station Slots Compare to Other Types of Slots?

Other than playing at gas stations with slot machines, patrons in WV have two other avenues for playing slots. There are online slots found at WV online casinos like BetMGM WV Online Casino and BetRivers WV Online Casino, as well as those found in the five WV land-based casinos.

Online Slots

In terms of value to the player, WV online slots typically have the highest RTP, typically ranging from 93% all the way up to 99%, plus RTP usually doesn’t scale with bet denomination, like they do in regular casinos. That means whether you bet a penny or $100 on an online slot, you’ll usually get the same RTP. There are also a ton of free play and deposit match offers available thanks to the various lucrative WV online casino bonuses. Oh, and you can play anywhere within the state.

Land-Based Casinos

Land-based casinos are usually a little tighter when it comes to RTP, though the higher denomination slots are a bit better, with decent returns starting at around $1 per spin. Since there are only five land-based casinos in the Mountain State, and one of them requires an expensive membership to enter, odds are it’s not convenient for you to go to one for a few off-the-cuff spins.

Gas Station Slots

Gas station gambling machines represent an interesting middle-ground between the two offerings above. Firstly, they can be found almost everywhere, so having a few spins after paying for your gas or before you sit down for something to eat could be something you do for a little bit of fun in the moment. They are in enough locations to be convenient and offer a decent RTP ranging between 90% and 94%.

A Timeline of Slot Machine Legality in West Virginia

Legal slots have been present in West Virginia for three decades, and now they’re everywhere! Here’s a timeline of the legal evolution of slot machines in the Mountain State:

Who Benefits from Limited Video Lottery Slots?

There are plenty of people who benefit from the legalization of legal slots, including the many LVL operators who run the terminals alongside legitimate businesses, such as restaurants, cafes, and gas stations, as well as manufacturers, vendors, and other industry stakeholders.

With tax revenues collected, the State Lottery puts money towards programs mainly benefiting education, support for seniors, and tourism, with billions of dollars generated for these causes since the inception of the State Lottery. Well over a third of this revenue now comes from LVLs.

The numbers also speak for themselves. Less than 9,000 machines across the state have taken in revenues of over $300 million every year since 2012, and the numbers are seeing an upward trend.

Another benefit of the legalization of these convenience store gambling machines was the criminalization of the old gray slots, bringing a fairer and more straightforward playing experience for all players, making the act of playing the slots a pure game of chance based on a random number generator.

Do Gas Station Slots Exist in Other States?

Louisiana, Nevada, and Illinois each have their own versions of convenience store slot machines like the ones found in West Virginia, with licensed and regulated operations.

Other states, such as Pennsylvania and Virginia, don’t have true casino-style slots, but have something close to the real thing; these are what are referred to as ‘PA skill games‘ or ‘gray games’, thanks to their existence being tied to a gray area in the law. The only functional difference between skill-based gas station slot machines and traditional slots is that a player must select the winning payline.

However, the skill game industry in both Pennsylvania and Virginia is turbulent at best. In PA, the only thing keeping the skill-game slots alive is a series of low-court victories in favor of the machines, with no official legislation in place as of yet, though bills are being put in place both for and against the machines.

In Virginia, things are the opposite. As of November 2023, skill games were banned, though recent talks in 2024 and the passing of bills in both the House and Senate proposing regulation for the machines in their current form look set to get reels spinning once again, though they will keep their current skill-game traits.

Our Verdict

Gas station slots are a pretty popular idea that was successfully implemented by the state lottery over 20 years ago, and some really good things have happened thanks to revenues generated from the terminals. Lawmakers in PA and Virginia should consider what this additional revenue could do for their respective states.

📌 The games offer an alternative option to online gambling and the convenience of not having to travel out to one of the state’s five land-based casinos, and perhaps offer a more casual atmosphere than the bright lights and dazzling sounds of the casino floor.

📌 These kinds of regulated slot games trump their skill-based cousins, with far greater ease of access that is completely fair and based on random chance, rather than any skill element, in which a misplay could cost you a win. Overall, it seems they provide a benefit to the state as a whole.