West Virginia Sports Betting Handle $10 Million Strong And Growing


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WV sports betting

Approaching its two-month anniversary, West Virginia sports betting appears to be serving a hungry market.

WV sportsbooks have booked around $10 million in wagers since launch, and weekly totals are climbing steadily as the sports calendar fills in.

The state has collected more than $200,000 in taxes, too, tracking toward its year-long projection of $5.5 million. That seems within reach, as early numbers essentially include just one operator in the dawn of peak sports season.

Hollywood is king of WV sports betting

Hollywood Casino was the first WV property to open its sportsbook, hiring ticket writers at the end of August. Located within driving distance of Washington D.C. in the eastern tip, Hollywood enjoys the prime location in the state.

The benefits are evident in the numbers. Hollywood has booked more than $9 million in wagers since launch, responsible for pretty much all of the WV sports betting handle. Those tickets have turned into $2.3 million in revenue, though that number does include outstanding futures bets.

Hollywood’s handle has increased each week since opening, climbing over $2 million for the most recent reporting period (Oct. 6-12). Here’s the growth since launch:

Total handle: $9,091,103
Total revenue: $2,298,733
Taxes due: $229,873

FanDuel Sportsbook hiding at Greenbrier

The Greenbrier doesn’t have location working for it, nor does it draw heavy sports betting traffic.

The sprawling resort is tucked up against the Appalachian Mountains in a fairly remote part of the state. It’s also entirely private, with low-level memberships still running a couple thousand bucks. The sportsbook on property opened two weeks after Hollywood’s.

As anticipated, The Greenbrier’s numbers show modest in-person betting:

Total handle: $447,094
Total revenue: $75,697
Taxes due: $7,570

What the property does have going for it is a branding partnership with one of the industry’s emerging heavyweights.

FanDuel Sportsbook operates the resort’s brick-and-mortar facility, but its primary focus will be in the digital realm. Its online/mobile platform is already available in New Jersey and preparing for launch in WV.

What’s next for WV sports betting?

Speaking of online/mobile betting, that’s what’s next for West Virginia. The law passed in March authorized it, and regulations permit each licensee to partner with up to three online brands.

The Greenbrier will deploy a digital FanDuel Sportsbook in due time, and Hollywood is partnered with William Hill for its online/mobile betting product.

Delaware North owns Mardi Gras and Wheeling Island, and it has a new partnership with Miomni. Both properties will have retail sportsbooks up and running at some point, but the target date has been slipping backward.

Mountaineer Casino is the other WV property permitted to offer sports betting, but it had not yet submitted an application at the most recent update. It will, though, according to industry sources.

For now, Hollywood doesn’t face any competition in the open market, and should retain its retail crown for the foreseeable future. You can expect FanDuel Sportsbook to own the online/mobile space, though, if New Jersey’s experience is any guide.

DraftKings Sportsbook might be the runaway NJ sports betting leader, but it is currently without access to any other state with a legal industry — including West Virginia.