West Virginia online casinos and sports betting have raised more money in taxes this fiscal year than last. After the Mountain State recorded an all-time high $139 million in overall online casino revenue, the state benefitted almost $8 million more in taxes this year, topping $26 million in total.
Despite West Virginia sportsbook handle flattening, the state still made more revenue ($52.6 million) and raised more tax dollars ($5.3 million) than last fiscal year. Both of which are also all-time highs.
As the FY 2022/2023 comes to a close, PlayWV breaks down the online casino and sports betting sectors in the Mountain State and highlights what’s to come going forward.
West Virginia online casino figures skyrocket this year
Figures from the WV online casino vertical have increased dramatically over the past fiscal year. Here are some numbers comparing FY 2021/2022 to FY 2022/2023:
FY 2021/2022
- Revenue: $86.2 million
- Taxes: $12.9 million
- Net profit: $11 million
FY 2022/2023
- Revenue: $139 million
- Taxes: $20.8 million
- Net profit: $17.7 million
Wagers also increased from $2.6 billion to $4 billion in FY 2022/2023.
The Mountain State has nine online casinos, with WynnBet Casino being the most recent to launch last month.
Shawn Fluharty, Minority Whip in the West Virginia House of Delegates, was influential in launching online casinos in West Virginia in 2020. Fluharty realized the effects and wanted in on the action.
“Pennsylvania going green meant we needed to,” Fluharty said in April at the East Coast Gaming Congress. “Why would we allow people to jump the border and participate in Pennsylvania? Having a neighboring state in the market is certainly influential.”
With the addition of WynnBet, online casino figures are expected to increase again over the next fiscal year.
West Virginia sports betting flattens in FY 2022/2023
West Virginia sports betting did not see the same increase as online casinos exhibited. Most categories remained relatively flat, with one vertical significantly declining from last year.
Online handle slightly decreased to $455.5 million from $482.3 million in FY 2021/2022.
Retail sports betting handle went down from $116.8 million to $71.6 million in FY 2022/2023.
As the total handle decreased from $599.1 million to $527.1 million, revenue for the Mountain State still increased to $52.6 million from $44.8 million.
The state collected $5.3 million in taxes, up from $4.5 million last year.
What’s next for West Virginia gaming
While finishing up its fourth fiscal year, it seems as if sports betting has leveled out. It was the first time year-over-year betting handle did not increase.
Though West Virginia has five sports betting licenses, two of them made up 87.2% of the handle. Hollywood Charles Town, whose partners include DraftKings Sportsbook WV, Barstool and PointsBet, led the way with $244.8 million in handle. The Greenbrier, partners with BetMGM WV, FanDuel Sportsbook and Golden Nugget, recorded $215.3 million in handle.
Despite West Virginia not separating handle by specific operator, DraftKings seems to be leading the way. Now with Fanatics buying PointsBet’s US assets, it’ll be interesting to see when the sports merchandise company launches and what kind of impact it’ll have.
While sports betting may have hit its peak, online casinos keep growing. There always seems to be room for growth, even when there doesn’t appear to be. WynnBet’s entrance into the market will add to the mix of online casinos as they continue to carry the state in gaming.
The launch of more online casinos can expand the West Virginia market even more. Pennsylvania is launching an additional five online casinos by 2023 or early 2024 and Rhode Island just passed legislation to legalize iGaming. There’s plenty of room for more growth in this area, even in the Mountain State.
