After it appeared that online sports betting was going to overtake retail sportsbooks for good, the three active land-based books in West Virginia regained the lead.
It was, however, a slower week for sports wagering overall, retail locations led the way with just over $4 million in handle for the week of Nov. 23.
In total, the Mountain State accepted around $7.4 million in sports bets for the week. This is the lowest overall handle has been in five weeks.
As for mobile betting in WV, the online sportsbooks available in the state had a down week, as well. DraftKings and FanDuel only brought in around $3.4 million in bets, their lowest handle in five weeks, too.
In fact, handle for online sportsbooks has decreased in each of the past two weeks.
It will be interesting to see how sports betting in WV fluctuates moving forward into the winter months. With the WVU football season now concluded, will the market still see the same volume of bets?
This week’s report includes activity from Nov. 17-23 from these WV sportsbooks:
- Hollywood Casino Sportsbook and DraftKings WV Sportsbook
- The Greenbrier and FanDuel Sportsbook
- Mountaineer Sportsbook
WV sports betting revenue highlights
The following are the key takeaways from the Nov. 23 figures:
- Retail handle back on top
- Overall handle down again
- WVU game impacted retail’s revenue
For the first time in three weeks, retail sports betting handle surpassed online’s handle.
This week, retail jumped back in front by taking in over $4 million in wagers. This figure is right around where retail’s handle has been of late, though.
The drop-off in handle for the online apps opened the door for retail. For whatever reason, online betting has fallen off the last two weeks and only totaled $3.4 million this week.
Handle surpassed $8 million in two consecutive weeks at the beginning of the month, but now it’s started to sputter. In fact, handle is now almost $1 million lighter.
As mentioned, it will be very interesting to see how WV’s handle reacts to football season finishing up. Without WVU and Marshall football on the board at WV sportsbooks, handle could start to slow down.
The conclusion of the NFL season will also be something to watch for. Since football games bring in the most betting action, sportsbooks may be forced to offer bettors more promotions to keep their interest after the season.
Although sportsbooks made a profit for the week overall, retail locations did not. They lost close to $175,000 and the WVU football game could help explain why.
Mountaineers’ football games typically gain a lot of traction with bettors in the state. While many with either online sportsbook probably enjoy betting on WVU football too, it seems logical that more wagers come in on WVU games at the retail books.
With online betting available, the retail locations have become more geared toward a gameday experience.
Since WVU only lost the game against Oklahoma State by seven, backers who took the Mountaineers +7.5 were winners. This could help justify why the retail sportsbooks lost so much while online options still made money.
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: $232,632,482.71
- Revenue: $22,848,872.99
- Taxes: $2,284,887.30
It was a slower sports betting week in the Mountain State. In fact, handle only reached $7,435,282.30, a 4% decrease from a week ago.
Revenue wasn’t great either. Sportsbooks earned just $68,495.03, which was a 91% fall from the week prior.
WV sports betting revenue for the week ending Nov. 23, 2019
| WV Sportsbook | Online Handle | Retail Handle | Total Handle | Online Revenue | Retail Revenue | Total Revenue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hollywood Sportsbook + DraftKings | $1,953,634.88 | $2,995,814.86 | $4,949,449.74 | $99,622.65 | -$224,791.81 | -$125,169.16 | |
| The Greenbrier + FanDuel Sportsbook | $1,480,035.34 | $175,743.00 | $1,655,778.34 | $142,310.09 | $68,558.00 | $210,868.09 | |
| Mountaineer Sportsbook | N/A | $830,054.22 | $830,054.22 | N/A | -$17,051.40 | -$17,051.40 | |
| Wheeling Island Sportsbook | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | -$152.50 | -$152.50 | |
| Mardi Gras Sportsbook | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Total | $3,433,670.22 | $4,001,612.08 | $7,435,282.30 | $241,932.74 | -$173,437.71 | $68,495.03 |
A Closer Look At WV Sports Betting Handle
Hollywood Casino continues to lead all WV sportsbooks in handle. Even with the launch of online apps, Hollywood and its DraftKings platform are in first by a wide margin.
In total, Hollywood accepted just under $5 million in handle for the week. Although still a solid performance, this is actually the first time in three weeks that it didn’t reach the $5 million mark.
Its retail sportsbook took in about $1 million more in bets compared to its DraftKings sports betting app.
The Greenbrier finished in second just shy of $1.7 million. Its sportsbook didn’t do terribly, but its handle has not been great the last few weeks.
It posted a handle of $2.5 million for the week of Nov. 9 and has only seen it drop since. As always, The Greenbrier’s FanDuel app accepted the majority of wagers, accounting for nearly $1.5 million of the handle.
Mountaineer placed third with another average week. Its sportsbook managed just over $800,000.
Even though its handle increased from the previous week, Mountaineer hasn’t surpassed $900,000 in handle in three weeks. It continues to fall behind in the WV market without an online sportsbook.
Here’s how the WV sportsbooks rank for weekly handle:
- Hollywood Casino ($4,949,449.74)
- The Greenbrier ($1,655,778.34)
- Mountaineer Casino ($830,054.22)
- Mardi Gras Casino ($0)
- Wheeling Island ($0)
A Closer Look At WV Sports Betting Revenue
The Greenbrier won in terms of revenue for the week. Not only did its sportsbook net over $210,000, but it was the only book in the market to finish in the positive.
Both its retail and online sportsbook earned a profit, with its FanDuel platform accounting for over 67% of its revenue. Although The Greenbrier’s retail book only generated around $68,000, this is extremely impressive considering it accepted just $175,000 in bets.
The other two active sportsbooks in WV did not fare as well.
Mountaineer lost around $17,000 for the week. It’s the worst showing from its sportsbook in regards to revenue in 19 weeks.
Hollywood Casino finished last by losing over $125,000. Its DraftKings Sportsbook made close to $100,000, but its retail location lost around $225,000.
It is the retail and online’s lowest revenue in three weeks when Hollywood lost more than $1.2 million.
Even though they are still both closed, Wheeling Island and Mardi Gras Casino lost about $150 for the week in settled wagers.
Here’s how the WV sportsbooks rank for weekly revenue:
- The Greenbrier ($210,868.09)
- Mardi Gras Casino ($0)
- Wheeling Island (-$152.50)
- Mountaineer Casino (-$17,051.40)
- Hollywood Casino (-$125,169.16)
On the board for WV Sportsbooks
WV Basketball
Since the college football regular season is completed, our attention turns to the local college hoops action in the state. Both WVU and Marshall have shown some promise this year in the early going.
The Mountaineers are off to an incredible 7-0 start under coach Bob Huggins. They beat Wichita State by 12 to claim the Cancun Classic, then followed that up with a tough, five-point victory at home over URI.
WVU is currently the only undefeated team remaining in the Big 12 Conference.
Marshall is just 2-5 to start in the 2019 season. Despite the poor record, the Thundering Herd have competed in a lot of games. In a recent matchup against Florida, the 19-point underdogs lost by just six.
WVU will take its 7-0 record to Madison Square Garden on Saturday to take on St. John’s. The Red Storm are 7-2 overall and will pose a legitimate threat to the Mountaineers.
The Herd next play on Sunday afternoon at Toledo. The Rockets are 4-0 at home so far this season and should be sizable favorites against Marshall.
NFL Week 14
The NFL has reached the final month of the regular season. Both conferences’ playoff pictures are starting to become more clear as just a few teams remain alive for the postseason.
Here are Week 14’s odds according to both online sports betting apps in WV, DraftKings and FanDuel:
| Spread | Total | Moneyline | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CLE vs CIN | |||
| DraftKings Sportsbook | CLE -7.5 | 41.5 | CLE -335 CIN +285 |
| FanDuel Sportsbook | CLE -7.5 | 41.5 | CLE -320 CIN +270 |
| PIT vs. ARI | |||
| DraftKings | PIT -3 | 43 | PIT -148 ARI +130 |
| FanDuel | PIT -2.5 | 41.5 | PIT -140 ARI +122 |
| WAS vs GB | |||
| DraftKings | WAS +12 | 41.5 | WAS +550 GB -670 |
| FanDuel | WAS +13 | 41.5 | WAS +540 GB -700 |
| Odds last updated on Dec. 6. |
