Despite there only being five retail casinos in West Virginia, one of them is making major headlines. Hollywood Casino Charles Town landed on the American Gaming Association‘s (AGA) list of the top 20 casinos outside Nevada, in terms of Q3 revenue.
Hollywood Casino has proven to be one of the top retail facilities in the country, even though it’s located in a much smaller state compared to others on the list.
Hollywood Casino Charles Town WV places 18th on AGA’s profits list
On a list with some of the country’s best retail casinos, Hollywood Casino Charles Town has cracked the top 20 casinos outside Nevada, placing 18th. The top five casinos in regard to revenue from this last quarter are further north:
- Resorts World NYC (NY)
- Borgata (NJ)
- MGM National Harbor (MD)
- Encore Boston Harbor (MA)
- Live! (MD)
While those casinos generate upward of at least $175 million in Q3 revenue, Hollywood Casino Charles Town is toward the bottom of the list, which is still an impressive feat. Here are the casinos that just made the list, ranked 16-20:
- Rivers Pittsburgh (PA)
- Horseshoe Indianapolis (IN)
- Hollywood Casino Charles Town (WV)
- Southland (AR)
- Golden Nugget Lake Charles (LA)
These casinos each brought in just below $100 million in Q3 earnings. Hollywood Casino Charles Town produced approximately $80 million in revenue during the third quarter.
The land-based sector of gaming reached an all-time high of $12.49 billion in Q3 slot and table games revenue. AGA President and CEO, Bill Miller, is pleased with the level of growth by retail casinos. He said in a press release:
“With growth across land-based and online gaming, we are delivering career opportunities for millions of Americans and strong economic contributions to communities across the country through increased tax revenue. Our sustained momentum reflects gaming as a first-choice entertainment option for millions of American adults.”
West Virginia online casinos contribution to tax revenue
The Mountain State is one of only six states to offer legal online casinos. While much of the country has been focused on sports betting, Shawn Fluharty, Minority Whip in the West Virginia House of Delegates, realized the revenue iGaming could drive within the state.
West Virginia is not as large as Pennsylvania, New Jersey or Michigan, however, being one of the states to legalize online casinos is an important milestone. Moving forward, states can learn from each of the six states with online casinos to implement into their own launches.
In a podcast appearance on the Safe Bet Show last month, Fluharty used an analogy to describe the benefits of online casinos:
“In golf, drive for show, putt for dough. When it comes to sports betting and iGaming, sports betting is for show, iGaming is dough. Meaning, the money we thought was coming with sports betting, which is a bit of a falsehood, actually does come with iGaming.”
West Virginia has generated $44 million in taxes from WV online casinos since 2020. Here are tax totals from all six states:
- Pennsylvania: $1.83 billion
- New Jersey: $1.53 billion
- Michigan: $1.03 billion
- Connecticut: $89 million
- West Virginia: $44 million
- Delaware: $19 million
West Virginia uses earnings generated from online casinos for worthy causes such as The Promise Scholarship, which allows future college students to attend in-state institutions at a discounted price.
West Virginia being a smaller state means little to nothing. It’s clear that the state has a healthy appetite for gaming, whether that be online or in-person, and gets national attention because of it.
