Last week, after posting the third-lowest handle since legal sports betting in West Virginia debuted, sportsbooks had a pretty good week considering the current circumstances. They pulled in around $1.8 million in wagers, over $700,000 more than the previous week.
The West Virginia sports betting market is still without an online sports betting app, and there is no confirmed timeline of a launch.
There is, however, a possibility that FanDuel Sportbook will find its way to West Virginia to make WVU football fans happy.
It looks like now that FanDuel is live in Pennsylvania, it appears to be turning its attention to West Virginia.
So, which online sportsbook will take the credit for bringing online betting back to West Virginia? That still remains to be seen. While FanDuel seems to be the favorite today, don’t count DraftKings Sportsbook out, just yet.
While West Virginia bettors are waiting for WVU football and online betting to return, the state’s three active sportsbooks had a quality week for a change.
On a positive note, the books generated plenty of revenue this week. They gained more than $300,000 in profits for the first time in 7 weeks.
This week’s report includes activity from July 14-20 for all five WV sportsbooks:
Mardi Gras Sportsbook and Wheeling Island Sportsbook are still closed. Unfortunately, it appears that both will not be accepting bets for the start of the NFL or college football seasons either.
WV Sports Betting Summary
Here are the latest figures released by the WV Lottery Commission since WV sports betting revenue tracking began in August 2018:
- Handle: $132,227,571.78
- Revenue: $12,366,309.37
- Taxes: $1,236,631.05
WV sportsbooks had a solid recovery for the week of July 20. Handle figures bumped up 64%, totaling $1,814,953.75.
Revenue figures did just as well. Sportsbooks generated $307,021.75, a 438% increase from the week prior.
WV sports betting revenue for the week ending July 20, 2019
| Casino | Handle | Mobile Sports Betting Revenue | Retail Sports Betting Revenue | Total Revenue | Taxes (10%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hollywood Casino | $1,481,018.45 | N/A | $274,305.2 | $274,305.2 | $27,430.52 |
| Mountaineer Casino | $275,872.30 | N/A | $20,146.1 | $20,146.1 | $2,014.61 |
| The Greenbrier | $58,063.00 | N/A | $13,160.50 | $13,160.50 | $1,316.05 |
| Mardi Gras Casino | N/A | N/A | -$590.05 | -$590.05 | -$59.01 |
| Wheeling Island Hotel | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Total | $1,814,953.75 | N/A | $307,021.75 | $307,021.75 | $30,702.17 |
A Closer Look At WV Sports Betting Handle
The sports betting handle breakdown looks very familiar to previous weeks. Hollywood Casino leads all others as the only sportsbook with over $1 million in wagers.
Hollywood rebounded from one of its worst weeks ever by pulling in almost $1.5 million in bets.
Mountaineer Casino performed well this week, too. Its handle increased by more than $125,000 compared to a week ago.
The Greenbrier also saw a sizable jump in action. Its sportsbook more than tripled its overall handle from last week.
Here’s how the WV sportsbooks rank for weekly handle:
- Hollywood Casino ($1,481,018.45)
- Mountaineer Casino ($275,872.30)
- The Greenbrier ($58,063.00)
- Mardi Gras Casino ($0)
- Wheeling Island ($0)
Major takeaway: Hollywood Sportsbook still carrying the bulk
One of the few consistencies with the weekly revenue report is that the Hollywood Casino is responsible for the majority of betting handle every week.
While every sportsbook has its ups and downs, Hollywood is always accepting significantly more bets than its WV competition.
In order for Mountaineer or The Greenbrier to even compete with Hollywood, they must release an online option first into the WV market. If it’s true that FanDuel is coming soon to WestVirginia, The Greenbrier might actually find its way to the top of the leaderboard.
A Closer Look At WV Sports Betting Revenue
After a terrible week in which WV sportsbooks lost more than $90,000, they had an amazing showing and made over $300,000.
Hollywood Casino regained its usual top position by earning nearly $275,000 this week. This was a massive response after losing more than $70,000 last week.
Mountaineer Casino also improved significantly following last week’s loss. It made more than $20,000 for the first time in a month.
The Greenbrier pulled in around $13,000 in revenue after also being in the negative a week ago.
While Wheeling Island didn’t pay out any settled bets, Mardi Gras Casino did. It lost around $600 for the week.
Here’s how the WV sportsbooks rank for weekly revenue:
- Hollywood Casino ($274,305.20)
- Mountaineer Casino ($20,146.10)
- The Greenbrier ($13,160.50)
- Wheeling Island ($0)
- Mardi Gras Casino ($-590.05)
Major takeaway: WV needs more sportsbook options
To no one’s surprise, the sports betting market in WV is currently not meeting expectations. The biggest reason for this is the lack of sportsbooks for its residents to use.
Beyond that, there are being no online options and there are really only two public sportsbooks fans can go to in the entire state. That is not nearly enough given the size and population of WV.
The state absolutely needs a mobile sportsbook, however, it could use more retail books as well. Getting Wheeling Island and Mardi Gras back up would be helpful.
On the board for WV Sportsbooks
WV football
College football is about a month away from returning. This means that Marshall and WVU football is almost back in the Mountain State and back in your local sportsbook.
According to DraftKings in New Jersey, here are the following odds for how both teams will perform this season:
Odds to win conference:
- Marshall (CUSA) +550
- WVU (Big 12) +2500
Odds to win national title:
- Marshall +100000
- WVU +50000
Regular season win total
- Marshall
- Over 7 (-167)
- Under 7 (+135)
- WVU
- Over 5 (-110)
- Under 5 (-110)
NFL
The NFL season is also quickly approaching. With training camp fully underway, gamblers can start to determine which futures bets have good value.
Even though college football is king in WV, here are the betting odds to win this year’s Super Bowl:
- Cleveland Browns +1400
- Pittsburgh Steelers +2200
- Baltimore Ravens +3300
- Washington Redskins +10000
- Cincinnati Bengals +12500
The preseason actually gets started this week as the Denver Broncos battle the Atlanta Falcons in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.
DraftKings has the following odds for Thursday night’s game:
- Broncos -2.5 (-110)
- Moneyline -136
- Falcons +2.5 (-110)
- Moneyline +112
- Over 34 (-110)
- Under 34 (-110)
