During the 20th week of legalized sports betting, West Virginia sportsbooks received wagers amounting to almost $5 million. As a result, they earned slightly above $300,000 and contributed over $31,000 towards the state’s revenue. Impressive results for a week’s worth of work.
An overview of WV sports betting
The West Virginia Lottery has jurisdiction over WV sports betting, managing the sports betting activities at the five WV casinos and the sole active mobile sports betting app.
- Charles Town Races at Hollywood Casino
- The establishment known as Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort
- The Casino Club located at The Greenbrier
- The Mardi Gras Casino and Resort, along with its BetLucky app, is a popular destination for gambling and entertainment.
- The BetLucky app and Wheeling Island Hotel
The Lottery publishes every week, starting from Saturday.
- Handle (total amount wagered)
- Revenue refers to the total earnings received after deducting the payouts for winners.
- State tax revenue (aggregate sum collected for the state)
WV Sports Betting Summary
The following statistics represent the industry’s most recent data following the launch of WV sports betting in August:
- Handle: $56.1 million
- Revenue: $7.1 million
- Taxes: $712,321.20
The NFL playoffs undeniably fueled the remarkable handle figure of $4,860,952.97 during the week starting on Jan. 12, 2019.
The total revenue recorded was $310,758.33, which is less than half of the highest reported revenue in the industry. Since the week starts on Saturday, it is evident that this revenue amount is largely due to settling the future bets made earlier in the week.
WV sports betting revenue for the week beginning Jan. 12, 2019:
Looking closer at the WV sports betting numbers
An intriguing observation is that the top two casinos in terms of handle currently do not offer an online sports betting app, at least not yet.
Hollywood Casino maintains its leading position, outperforming the competition once again. It garnered $2.67 million in wagers, marking a 0.39 percent growth compared to the previous week.
Take a moment to let this sink in: It surpassed the combined number of sports bets placed at all other WV sportsbooks, including the mobile app.
Greenbrier could be experiencing a negative impact due to the exclusive access of its sportsbook for its members.
The private club recorded its lowest figure in terms of accepted bets for the week, totaling $94,985. This marks a significant decrease of almost 100 percent compared to the previous week, and stands as the lowest amount since the second week of sports betting.
The decision to allow non-members to purchase access to its Super Bowl party might have been influenced by the decrease in activity.
Mardi Gras Casino’s remarkable growth of 42.5 percent in handle week after week is worth mentioning, as it is steadily catching up to second-place Mountaineer.
With its exclusive mobile sports betting app, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if it quickly ascends to the second position in the upcoming weeks.
However, it is important to note that online betting does not guarantee success. In the case of Wheeling Casino, which also offers online sports betting, there was a decrease in handle by 6.67 percent compared to the previous week.
Yearly sports betting revenue still hard to predict
Predicting the future of revenue in West Virginia’s sports betting industry is challenging, despite the emergence of certain revenue trends and the existence of revenue models that can assist in estimating potential earnings. This uncertainty is acknowledged by John Myers, the Director of the West Virginia Lottery, although states like Nevada and New Jersey provide valuable insights into this matter.
Because we haven’t completed the rollout at all tracks, providing you with an exact number for the upcoming year will be extremely challenging.
There are still 13 online sportsbook licenses available for launch in WV, indicating that WV sports betting is still in its early stages. Among these licenses, two prominent sports betting giants, DraftKings WV Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook, have already been confirmed.
The influence they have had on the sports betting scene in New Jersey has been significant. It is highly probable that they will exert a similar impact on the state of West Virginia. Myers’ hesitance to forecast future earnings is justified, given the substantial uncertainties that still exist.
There is no doubt that WV sportsbooks are poised for a busy and lucrative 2019.
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