The legal gambling market in West Virginia has experienced an unusually strange couple of weeks.
While the new online casino industry in the Mountain State thrives, WV sportsbooks are currently facing challenges.
For the week of October 17th, online casinos have once again surpassed the $10 million mark. The collaboration between DraftKings WV Casino and BetMGM Casino WV has now achieved a handle in the range of at least eight figures for nine consecutive weeks.
Over the past four weeks, the combined mobile platforms have garnered close to $60 million in bets. The successful launch of WV online casinos has unquestionably made a remarkable impact.
However, the sports betting market is underperforming compared to its potential.
Following a remarkable achievement of surpassing $19 million in weekly handle for the week of Sept. 26, the handle at sportsbooks has significantly declined.
During the previous three weeks, the sportsbooks in WV accumulated over $50 million in wagers, while in the last three weeks, the overall market saw approximately $35 million in sports bets.
Online casinos have outperformed WV sportsbooks by approximately $10 million in handle since the commencement of October. Notably, online casino handle has surpassed sports betting consistently in the past three weeks.
Although retail sports betting has seen relative stability, online wagering has experienced a significant decline. For the week of Sept. 26, online sportsbooks recorded more than $15 million in bets, but this past week, they received less than $7 million.
Despite The Greenbrier’s online sports betting apps falling flat, DraftKings Sportsbook WV is not performing up to par.
Over the past month, the handle for FanDuel Sportsbook and BetMGM Sportsbook has experienced a significant decline of approximately 67%.
Let’s delve into the betting statistics of online casinos and examine the reasons behind the decline in sportsbooks’ performance.
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WV online casinos succeeding
Online casinos have experienced rapid growth since their inception and have maintained consistent success. Since their launch in mid-July, weekly online casino betting has consistently exceeded $6 million.
Since its launch, online casinos in West Virginia have welcomed over $170 million in wagers within a span of 14 weeks. This amount significantly surpasses the initial earnings generated by online sportsbooks upon their introduction to the state.
After a span of 14 weeks, the emergence of the second wave of online sports betting in August 2019 resulted in a total handle of approximately $43 million for online sportsbooks.
There is no indication that online casino wagering will decelerate; in fact, it seems probable that betting will persistently rise.
DraftKings Casino has recently made an exciting announcement regarding a significant expansion of its games library. The company has reached an agreement with NetEnt to introduce their titles into the WV market, promising an enhanced gaming experience for its users.
Despite the frequent addition of new games by the online casino since its launch in the state, this remains a significant move. NetEnt, a renowned player in the realm of mobile gambling, possesses a multitude of thrilling games that will soon be available in WV.
In addition to the existing casino apps gaining popularity, it is expected that more will enter the market. Given the substantial amount of money being bet in this online industry, the remaining retail casinos in the state will undoubtedly strive to be part of this lucrative opportunity.
With the capacity for every retail establishment to introduce three online skins, the availability of more online casinos is anticipated to increase in the near future. Among the platforms expected to make an early appearance, FanDuel Casino stands out.
Having a greater number of apps is usually advantageous for bettors. The presence of competition within the industry enables customers to benefit from the various deals and promotions offered by these apps.
The combination of these factors, coupled with the rising popularity of online gambling throughout the United States, suggests that West Virginia’s online casinos are poised for significant future success.
WV online sports betting declines
While the sports calendar may have its lulls, this period should not be one of them. With both the NFL and college football in full swing, there are abundant opportunities for betting enthusiasts to engage in thrilling wagering activities throughout the weekends.
However, online sports betting has undergone significant changes in the past three weeks.
During the week of Oct. 3, the handle experienced a significant decline of almost 50% compared to its previous performance. Online sportsbooks received an impressive amount of over $15.5 million in bets, but this was subsequently reduced to approximately $8.3 million.
You would be mistaken if you believed this could be considered a mere aberration.
In the past two weeks, the figures for sports betting have experienced a consecutive decline. During the week of Oct. 10, the handle reached approximately $7.2 million, but it dropped to a mere $6.7 million last week.
It is truly astonishing that the online handle decreased by an enormous 57% within a mere four-week timeframe.
The existence of popular football markets every week makes this less remarkable. Even the WVU Mountaineers are performing exceptionally well at the beginning of the season.
It would have been logical to see a decrease in handle due to the absence of NHL and NBA markets, however, since the NBA finals didn’t end until October 11th, this explanation doesn’t hold up.
It’s even more peculiar that retail sports betting remains unaffected in this valley.
During the week when online sportsbooks experienced a decline of over $7 million in handle, there was a notable increase in retail wagering. Land-based sportsbooks witnessed a rise of approximately $500,000 compared to the previous week.
The following week saw a slight increase in retail betting, and it essentially replicated that performance during the week of October 17th. Over the past three weeks, retail sportsbooks have consistently generated a minimum of $4 million in handle.
Online sports bets made up 81% of the overall market share in West Virginia on September 26, but have now decreased to only 60% of the total handle in the latest week.
It is evident that this is a prevailing pattern in the Mountain State, and we will need to closely monitor it in the future.
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