West Virginia released their sports betting and online casino numbers from September last week. With the return of the NFL season to many West Virginian fans’ delight, sports betting numbers were up month over month. Online casino operators in the state experienced a slight decline month over month compared to August’s numbers.
The West Virginia Lottery Commission reports the state’s online gambling numbers weekly rather than monthly, resulting in September’s numbers running from September 4th to October 1st. August’s numbers ran from July 31st to September 3rd. Despite the extra week in August, September still resulted in a dramatic increase for sportsbooks across the state.
Sports Betting Overview
During September, state sports betting operators reported a total handle (amount wagered) of $46,899,825, a 38.1% increase month over month. Revenue increased a staggering 73% as compared to August’s numbers. State taxes for West Virginia also increased to $592,459 for the month.
Online sports betting grew for the month as well. Sports betting operators reported $37.18 million of wagers placed were through online sportsbooks, with the remaining ~$9.7 million wagered in person at retail locations across the Mountain state. The numbers represent a 32.5% increase from August’s $28.1 million wagered online.
Compared to September 2021, however, sportsbooks experienced a drop year-over-year in West Virginia. Last year, operators handled a total of $60.1 million for the month of September. This month resulted in a 21.9% decrease compared to September last year. Part of that decrease is attributable to the fact that September 2021 data included five weeks of data, with September 2022 including just four weeks of data.
- August 2022 total sports betting handle: $33.96 million
- September 2022 total sports betting handle: $46.9 million
- Up 38.1% month over month
- 79.2% of wagers were placed online
- Total tax revenue generated from sports wagering: $529,459
Online Casino Overview
Online casinos in West Virginia experienced a month-over-month decrease compared to August’s numbers. However, the state actually reported a higher weekly average than August, meaning the extra week in August was responsible for the higher monthly revenue numbers. Weekly revenue in September hovered around $2.5 million, with August bringing around $2.16 million weekly.
In terms of total handle, iGaming (casino table gaming, slots, poker, etc.) operators reported a total handle of $282,169,332, a 13.9% drop from August’s handle of $327,615,368.
Online casino revenue was only down 5% despite the extra week in August. West Virginia online casinos reported total revenue of $10.3 million last month compared to $10.8 million in August.
- September 2022 total online casino handle: $282.2 million
- August 2022 total online casino handle: $327.6 million
- Down 13.9% month over month
- Handle weekly average during September: $70.5 million
- Handle weekly average during August: $65.5 million
- September online revenue: $10.3 million (5% decrease from August)
The Greenbrier, located in White Sulpher Springs, West Virginia, led online casino operators during the month of September, reporting total revenue of $5.28 million. The online casino brand brought in 51% of the total revenues reported in the state last month. Charles Town reported total revenue numbers of just over $4 million, representing about 38% of the total revenue generated during the month. The Mountaineer Casino, located in New Cumberland, rounded out the top three bringing in a total of $944,997 in revenue, making up about 9.2% of total revenue.
Six US states currently offer online casino gaming: West Virginia, Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Mac Daniel is a South Carolina-based freelance writer for PlayOnlineCasino and PlayOnlineSportsBetting. He has experience writing about a wide variety of topics, including healthcare, tourism, non-profit organizations, and most recently casino and sportsbetting news. To check out more of his work, visit: www.playonlinemichigan.com