The casino gambling industry is experiencing steady expansion in the Mountain State, both at physical establishments and online platforms.
In retail casinos, video lottery and table games experienced a roughly 5% increase in January. On the other hand, online casinos witnessed significant growth in double digits compared to the previous month, achieving their most successful four-week period ever recorded in the state’s history.
WV online casino growth is unparalleled
Bettors currently have access to seven online casinos in West Virginia, with the upcoming launch of Hacksaw Gaming, the count is set to reach eight.
In the month of February, West Virginia witnessed a remarkable achievement in its online casino industry as both the handle and revenue reached unprecedented levels. The collective efforts of the state’s three operators resulted in a staggering $367.6 million in wagers, reflecting a 14.7% increase compared to the previous month. These wagers translated into payouts amounting to $355.2 million, ultimately generating approximately $12.4 million in revenue, marking a 13.8% growth from the previous month.
West Virginia online casinos have achieved a remarkable streak of five consecutive months with handle exceeding $300 million and revenue surpassing $10 million. Although the monthly double-digit growth is commendable, the annual increase is even more remarkable. In February 2022, the handle stood at $222 million, generating approximately $8 million in revenue. Fast forward twelve months, and these figures have seen an impressive rise of 65.6% and 55%, respectively.
Charles Town nearly matches Greenbrier’s handle
In February, Greenbrier continued to dominate the WV online casino market in terms of handle and revenue. The apps it operates, BetMGM Sportsbook WV and FanDuel Casino WV, witnessed a significant increase in total wagers, reaching approximately $164.4 million, reflecting a 9.3% month-on-month growth. Additionally, these apps generated revenue of roughly $6.4 million, indicating a 12.1% month-on-month increase.
Charles Town nearly matched Greenbrier’s $162.7 million in bets, experiencing a significant 22.8% month-over-month increase through its DraftKings Casino WV and PointsBet Casino WV applications. However, its revenue fell short of Greenbrier’s, reaching around $4.5 million and still achieving a respectable 13.8% month-over-month growth.
Although Mountaineer Casino’s combined handle of $40.4 million was lower compared to BetRivers WV and Caesars Casino WV, it experienced a 7.2% month-over-month growth. The revenues also saw a significant increase of approximately $1.5 million, representing a 19.9% month-over-month growth. This makes Mountaineer Casino the top-performing casino in the state in terms of percentage growth.
Video lottery still leads the way
In the month of February, the video lottery machines generated around $36.9 million, indicating a 5.2% increase compared to the previous month. Additionally, the state’s five retail casinos received $479.3 million in wagers, showing an 8.3% increase month-on-month. These casinos also paid out over $442 million in winnings.
In February, Hollywood Charles Town recorded a handle of $261.3 million, marking a 5.7% increase compared to the previous month. This impressive figure accounted for approximately 55% of all video lottery activity in the state. However, the casino’s revenue saw a decline of $2 million, representing a 9.7% decrease from January, bringing it to approximately $18.6 million.
In terms of handle and revenue, Wheeling ranked second, slightly ahead of Mountaineer. Both casinos surpassed the market, with Wheeling experiencing a 10.4% increase in handle, reaching $85.2 million, and a 9.4% increase in revenue, totaling $7 million, compared to the previous month.
The video lottery handle for Mountaineer reached $74.1 million, marking a 10.3% increase compared to the previous month. The revenue generated by Mountaineer was approximately $6.6 million, reflecting an 11.9% month-on-month growth.
Mardi Gras made an impressive comeback, achieving a significant increase in both handle and revenue. The handle reached $52.8 million, marking a remarkable growth of 12.8% compared to the previous month. Similarly, the revenue surged to $4.3 million, exhibiting a remarkable 13.2% month-on-month increase.
Despite finishing well below the other four retail casinos in video lottery numbers, Greenbrier, the leading iGaming operator in the state, experienced a significant rebound in February. Its handle increased by 40.5% compared to the previous month, reaching $5.9 million, while revenue also saw a notable growth of 64% MoM, totaling $356.8K. This impressive recovery came after a disappointing performance in January.
Another strong month for table games
In February, the revenue from table games continued to surpass $8 million for the second consecutive month, reaching a total of approximately $8.5 million (+4.8% MoM) for the weeks ending in February.
Hollywood Charles Town dominated the table games winnings, making up more than 60% of the total, which amounted to nearly $5.5 million. On the other hand, Greenbrier experienced remarkable growth in comparison to the previous month, with a significant increase of 44%.
- The revenue of Hollywood Charles Town increased by 5.2% month over month, reaching $5.49 million.
- The Mountaineer’s revenue increased by 15.7% from the previous month, reaching $1.03 million.
- Mardi Gras experienced a month-over-month decline of 21.4%, resulting in a total of $927K.
- Wheeling: $707K (+19.2% MoM)
- Greenbrier: $364K (+44.4%)
Table games revenue was primarily driven by Blackjack, which accounted for a total of $3 million across all five casinos. The top five games were as follows:
- The earnings from Blackjack increased to $3 million, showing a month-over-month growth rate of 1.3%.
- Craps: $866K (+10.3% MoM)
- Roulette: $791K (-17% MoM)
- Mini baccarat experienced a monthly growth of 31.2%, reaching a total of $598K.
- Poker: $413K (+4.3% MoM)
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