West Virginia’s sports betting market is facing a challenging situation as it lacks an online platform despite the impending college football and NFL seasons, which are just months away.
It becomes more evident with each passing week that a mobile sports app is essential for maintaining a thriving sports wagering market.
To everyone’s surprise, West Virginia sportsbooks experienced a notable increase in revenue. Nevertheless, the overall betting volume for the week ending June 29 remained underwhelming.
The figures for the week remained below $1.6 million, marking the lowest amount in West Virginia since the initial two weeks of legal sports gambling.
Online sportsbook licenses are expected to be available soon, providing much-needed assistance. However, the exact timing of their availability remains uncertain. The potential online options that are anticipated to enter the market include:
WV bettors are currently required to make use of one of the three operational land-based sportsbooks in the state until the online sports betting apps are launched.
However, individuals who reside near the Pennsylvania border can consider other alternatives. Currently, the Keystone State has three online sportsbooks operating in the PA sports betting market, and it seems that bettors from West Virginia are preparing to venture across the border once autumn arrives.
The report for this week encompasses the period of June 23-29, covering the activity of all five WV sportsbooks.
- Hollywood Casino Sportsbook
- Mountaineer Sportsbook
- The Greenbrier is home to the renowned FanDuel Sportsbook.
Both Mardi Gras Sportsbook and Wheeling Island Sportsbook remain closed, marking the first week where no settled bets were paid out. Consequently, the revenue report displays zeros in every column.
WV Sports Betting Summary
Since August 2018, the WV Lottery Commission has recently disclosed the most up-to-date statistics regarding WV sports betting revenue tracking.
- Handle: $127,784,773.48
- Revenue: $11,932,348.30
- Taxes: $1,193,234.94
Once again, the betting activity remained sluggish during the week of June 29, with a lackluster amount of $1,510,352.68 despite an 8% increase in the handle.
The revenue figures showed a significant improvement, with sportsbooks generating $146,359.18, which marked a remarkable 455% increase compared to the previous week.
WV sports betting revenue for the week ending June 29, 2019
A Closer Look At WV Sports Betting Handle
Despite a slight improvement from the previous week, the overall handle remains disastrous for West Virginia. The state’s handle is currently at its lowest point since the legalization of wagers.
For only the seventh time since September 2018, WV sportsbooks fell short of reaching a $2 million handle.
Currently, the sole positive development in the WV market revolves around Hollywood Casino. Despite falling short a week ago, their sportsbook has managed to exceed $1 million in wagers.
Since its opening week of betting, Hollywood’s sportsbook handle has consistently remained above $1 million.
On the flip side, Mountaineer Casino is experiencing a downward trend. Its revenue dropped by approximately $35,000 after a disappointing performance last week.
For the second week in a row, the sportsbook failed to surpass the $400,000 mark, despite accomplishing this feat for the previous 18 weeks.
Despite more than doubling its handle from a week ago, The Greenbrier’s total only amounted to slightly over $20,000.
These are the rankings for the weekly handle of WV sportsbooks.
- Hollywood Casino has a total value of $1,136,678.88, Mountaineer Casino has a total value of $351,475.80, The Greenbrier has a total value of $22,198.00, while both Mardi Gras Casino and Wheeling Island have a total value of $0.
Major takeaway: Sports betting is in slow period
In addition to the absence of an online sportsbook in WV, the current lack of thrilling sporting events might be negatively impacting the state’s betting activity. Despite people’s interest in betting on baseball or events like Wimbledon, the current sports landscape lacks significant action.
After the conclusion of basketball, hockey, and soccer seasons, sportsbooks are bracing themselves for a challenging few months ahead, as baseball takes the spotlight with the highest betting activity.
However, the slow period is nearing its end as the majority of college football programs will kick off their seasons in August this year.
Currently, the WV sports betting market is falling short of expectations, but it’s not until football season kicks off that sportsbooks will truly feel the impact. With that in mind, all three active sportsbooks should prioritize the launch of a mobile betting option by the end of August, as it is expected that betting activity will soar during this time.
A Closer Look At WV Sports Betting Revenue
Despite the continued poor handle, WV sportsbooks managed to generate a considerable amount of revenue for the week. For the first time in three weeks, sportsbooks accumulated over $100,000 in earnings.
This week, it was a profitable period for all active sportsbooks.
After experiencing an unusual week of losses, Hollywood Casino regained its position as the leading contender in the category. Its sportsbook achieved a milestone by earning over $100,000 for the first time in a month.
Mountaineer Casino fell behind significantly, securing the second spot with approximately $6,000 in revenue. Their sportsbook has failed to achieve a revenue of $100,000 for the past three weeks.
Despite being just over $4,000, The Greenbrier also experienced a positive revenue.
Neither Wheeling Island nor the Mardi Gras Casino made any payout for wagers placed this week. It is likely that both sportsbooks have resolved all outstanding bets that were accepted prior to their closure in March.
The weekly revenue rankings for WV sportsbooks are as follows:
- Hollywood Casino ($135,790.33)
- Mountaineer Casino ($6,347.85)
- The Greenbrier ($4,221.00)
- Wheeling Island ($0)
- Mardi Gras Casino ($0)
Major takeaway: Revenue figures are unpredictable
Predicting revenue figures, particularly on a weekly basis, is an immensely challenging task. The current report serves as a prime illustration of the highly unpredictable nature of the sports betting market.
Despite the lackluster performance of the state’s handle in the past two weeks, the sportsbooks have managed to remain profitable, with this week’s earnings being particularly significant.
While a higher handle generally correlates with increased revenue for sportsbooks, it is not always the case.
For consecutive weeks in November 2018, sportsbooks achieved an impressive handle of over $3 million. Surprisingly, despite the substantial amount wagered, the books incurred losses amounting to nearly $200,000 on both occasions.
Even during weeks like this one, when the handle can reach its lowest point, sportsbooks still manage to make a profit in the six-figure range.
On the board for WV Sportsbooks
Wimbledon
As the second week of thrilling matches takes place at Wimbledon, the highly renowned tennis tournament is approaching its conclusion. DraftKings Sportsbook in New Jersey has released the current odds for the potential winners in both the men’s and women’s categories.
Men’s
- Novak Djokovic -143
- Roger Federer +350
- Rafael Nadal +350
- Roberto Bautista-Agut +5000
- Guido Pella +5000
Women’s
- Serena Williams +150
- Simona Halep +275
- Johanna Konta +500
- Elina Svitolina +1000
- Alison Riske +1400
College football
Although the WVU Mountaineers and Marshall Thundering Herd are still a couple of months away from hitting the field, the process of placing bets on college football futures is already in full swing.
Over/Under on regular-season wins:
- The West Virginia University (WVU) football team has a projected win total set at 5. You can bet on the team to win more than 5 games at a line of -145 or bet on them to win less than 5 games at a line of +125.
- Marshall’s over/under is set at 7 with odds of -125 for the over and +105 for the under.
To win the conference:
- WVU (Big 12) +1800
- Marshall (CUSA) +900
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