West Virginia iGaming Numbers Mixed But Sports Betting Rises in May

The West Virginia online casino market had increased handle but a slight drop in revenue for May compared to April.

The iGaming handle in May was $213,094,190, up 1.1% from April ($210,875,611). The revenue from online gaming was $7,665,190, down 4.6% from the $8,036,257 reported the previous month via the West Virginia Lottery.

The sports betting numbers for the month in The Mountain State were up across the board.

Here are three takeaways from May revenue and handle figures in West Virginia.

West Virginia has seen its online gaming options grow in 2022.

BetMGM Casino teamed with Wizard Games in March to offer the latter’s iGaming options in the state. And Points Bet announced in January it would join the state’s online casino market after its entries into Michigan and New Jersey in 2021.

Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs led the state in online gaming handle for May at $111.26 million, followed by Hollywood Casino WV at Charles Town ($73.4 million) and Mountaineer Casino in New Cumberland ($28.4 million). 

West Virginia reports its iGaming and sports betting numbers weekly instead of at the end of each month. May’s figures cover a four-week span from May 1-28 while April represented the four weeks from April 3-30.

West Virginia is one of six states with real money online gaming, along with Connecticut, Michigan, Delaware, New Jersey and neighboring Pennsylvania.

The May sports betting total handle was $37.3 million, up 4.0% from the total reported in April ($35,864,019) while the mobile handle rose 6.1%, from $30.1 million in April to $31.9 million.

The year-over-year comparison was much more flattering for the state. The total handle was 46.3% higher than May 2021 ($25.5 million) and the amount wagered online rose 73.8% from 12 months earlier ($18.4 million).

The sports betting revenue was $3,415,583 in May, up 10.8% from April ($3,081,491) and up 27.1% from May 2021 ($2,688,065). The state share of taxes rose by the same percentage in a month-over-month comparison, from $261,927 to $290,325.

West Virginia was the first state to report its May figures. Sports betting has hit a slow patch, with NFL and college football season still a few months away, so don’t expect any records for revenue or handle to be threatened until at least September or more likely October.

All five commercial casinos in the state — the aforementioned Greenbrier, Mountaineer and Hollywood plus Wheeling Island Casino in Wheeling and Mardi Gras Casino in Cross Lanes, near Charleston — have online and retail sports betting.

The BetRivers sportsbook, already operating in several states, is entering the state’s online sports betting market.

An announcement came Tuesday from BetRivers’ parent company, Rush Street Interactive. BetRivers already offers online casino gaming in West Virginia. The company’s iGaming and sports betting apps will use the same wallet.

“We expect our BetRivers sportsbook app to be well received as many West Virginians are now familiar with the BetRivers brand and have come to appreciate and trust our high-quality products and responsive customer service,” Rush Street CEO Richard Schwartz said in a release issued by the company. “We are pleased that our integrated app will provide one convenient location for players in West Virginia to switch effortlessly between the casino and sportsbook using phones, tablets and computers to experience all that we have to offer, from spreads, moneylines, parlays, single game parlays, and player props to slots, tables games, and live dealer experiences.”

The BetRivers Casino launched its online product in West Virginia in April 2021 via a partnership with Mountaineer Casino.