West Virginia Online Gaming Handle, Revenue Increase in March

West Virginia had a strong March for real money online gaming.

The state’s iGaming outlets combined for $285,392,107 in handle for March, a 28.4% increase from February ($222.2 million), according to figures from the West Virginia Lottery.

The revenue from online gaming was up even more, a 29.1% boost from February’s $8 million to $10,343,361 in March.

West Virginia iGaming Details

West Virginia counts its iGaming and sports betting numbers weekly rather than monthly, so it helped that the counting period for March included five weeks (Feb. 27 to April 2) compared to four weeks in February (Jan. 30 to Feb. 26)

Still, the average of $57.1 million per week in handle and $2.07 million per week in revenue were increases over the previous month’s weekly averages of $55.56 million and $2.0 million, respectively.

The handle for the week ending March 5 was $61.76 million, the highest for any week in West Virginia’s fiscal year, which started July 1.

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

Also in March, BetMGM Casino announced it would be adding titles from Wizard Games to its online gaming content.

West Virginia Sports Betting Also Up

The sports betting handle and revenue were also up for March compared to February.

WV Sports Betting, March vs. February

Note: West Virginia reports numbers weekly rather than by calendar month. March represents Feb. 27 to April 2; February represents Jan. 30 to Feb. 26.

The state’s total sports betting handle in March was $61,482,860, up 24.8% from February ($49,271,583) and up 22.5% from March 2021 ($50,703,011). The mobile wagering market increased almost as much, from $41.2 million in February to $49,968,018 in March. Last month’s total was also a 31.2% increase from March 2021 ($38.1 million) in a year-over-year comparison.

The best week for sports betting handle for this accounting period was, no surprise, the first week of the men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament (the week ending March 19). West Virginians wagered $15.3 million on sports that week, the most since the week ending Jan. 22 ($16.1 million).

The sports betting revenue increased dramatically in March. It was $3,336,284, a 70.7% hike from February ($1.955 million) though it was not as strong as 12 months earlier, when state revenue from sports betting hit $4.78 million.

The state’s share of taxes was $283,584 in March.