Although revenue derived from both online casino gambling and sports betting in West Virginia decreased from March to April, online casino year-over-year numbers saw a marked increase of over 51% from April 2022 to April 2023.
West Virginia Online Casino Gambling Soaring
A reported $13 million in online gaming revenue was reported for April which was a whopping 51.6% ahead of last April in which revenues were approximately $8.6 million.
However, revenue in April decreased by $1.2 million from March, a typical drop considering March Madness, the men’s national college basketball tournament attracts a notable increase in gamblers who patronize the state’s brick-and-mortar casinos as well as the online gambling platforms.
Although online sports betting is spreading across the nation to where 33 states plus the District of Columbia now offer it to their residents, online casino gambling is unique to only six states including West Virginia. The virtual gaming platform features slots and table games, many of which would be found at a typical land-based casino.
An online gaming tax of 15% of gross gaming revenue (GGR) is imposed by the state that is deposited in the West Virginia Interactive Gaming Fund, and of that revenue collected, 15% of it is earmarked to the West Virginia Lottery Commission to cover expenses, with 0.25% allocated to the pension plan for employees of licensed wagering associations. Any remaining funds are directed to the State Lottery Fund.
Casino Club is Online Leader for Now
The Casino Club at The Greenbrier is one of three brick-and-mortar casinos in the state offering three of the seven online casino platforms.
BetMGM, FanDuel, and the Golden Nugget Casino are partnered with the Casino Club while the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races has an online presence with DraftKings and most recently PointsBet. Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort has partnered with BetRivers and Caesars and is the lowest revenue-producing entity of the three.
Naturally, the Casino Club had a leg up on its competitors in the virtual realm by having three platform providers but the Hollywood Casino has been gaining traction recently, overtaking the Casino Club over the last five weeks from the week ending on April 8th to the week ending on May 6th with revenues of $6.65 million versus $6.09 million.
April’s report revealed that the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town generated more revenue on its online casino platforms than the Casino Club at Greenbrier since 2020. The former delivered $5.7 million for a 43% market share, primarily on its DraftKings site, while the latter produced $5.5 million on its three sites; FanDuel, BetMGM, and Golden Nugget for 42% of the market.
The Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort reaped $1.9 million in revenue on its BetRivers and Caesars platforms for the remaining 14.3% of the market according to the latest reports. Although Mountaineer continues to lag behind the other two, its April revenue report is the highest it has been in the last year and reflects a growing upward trend for its iGaming market share.
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