West Virginia iGaming, Sports Betting Handles Fall in January
@jdtomlin68
The iGaming and sports betting numbers fell in West Virginia for January compared to December, partly because the time period measured was shorter.
West Virginia reports its online casino and sports wagering figures weekly instead of monthly. January’s numbers are from the period from Jan. 2-29; the December totals were taken from Nov. 28 to Jan. 1, or five weeks.
Even accounting for that, January’s weekly totals for iGaming didn’t approach those from December, according to figures reported by the West Virginia Lottery.
January’s iGaming handle was $192,135,878, down 31.5% from December’s $280,448,898. The week ending on Christmas Day saw the highest handle of the fiscal year for online casino gaming at $60.5 million and the state exceeded $50 million in each week of the holiday season. In January, each of the four weeks measured saw at least $46.71 million in handle but the figure never exceeded $50 million in any week.
As for revenue, that fell from $8,685,563 in December to $6,832,236 for January, a 21.3% decline.
Still, a year-over-year comparison shows the growth of iGaming in West Virginia. From Jan. 3 to Jan. 30, 2021, the state drew $99.1 million in iGaming handle. Twelve months later that figure nearly doubled. Ditto for revenue, which more than doubled from $2.796 million from the same period in 2021.
West Virginia is one of a small number of states with real money online casino options, along with New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Michigan.
New iGaming Operator on the Way
The latest operator for online casino gaming in the Mountaineer State is on the way.
PointsBet will join the market soon, as West Virginia becomes the third state where the company has an iGaming presence, after Michigan and New Jersey.
PointsBet is based in Australia but is steadily growing its presence in the U.S. sports betting and online casino markets.
Upon launching, PointsBet will be the sixth iGaming operator licensed in West Virginia, joining BetMGM Casino, DraftKings, BetRivers, WynnBet and Wazdan.
The DraftKings Casino was the first to begin operations in the state.
West Virginia Sports Betting Also Declines
The sports betting handle in West Virginia also fell off in January compared to December.
WV Sports Betting Handle & Revenue, January vs. December
| Total handle | Mobile handle | Revenue | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | $58.894M | $48.141M | $4.098M |
| December | $74.517M | $59.760M | $6.177M |
| Change | Down 21.0% | Down 19.4% | Down 33.7% |
Note: West Virginia reports numbers weekly rather than by calendar month. January represents Jan. 2-29; December represents Nov. 28 to Jan. 1.
January’s sports betting handle was $58.9 million, down 21.0% from December’s $74.5 million. As has been the case for some time, the vast majority of the market was via mobile, with $48.1 million in sports wagers made online.
The sports betting revenue fell 33.7%, from $6.2 million in December to $4.1 million in January.
Contributors
Jim Tomlin has more than 30 years of experience in sports journalism as an editor and writer. He has covered pro and college sports from football, baseball, basketball, soccer, golf, motorsports and more for publications such as the Tampa Bay Times, SaturdayDownSouth.com, SaturdayTradition.com and FanRag Sports. He now lends his expertise to TopUSCasinos.com, among other duties.
