West Virginia’s mobile sports betting continued climbing in July, kicking off the fiscal year with its strongest month since February.
The July West Virginia mobile handle was $11,168,731, up 94.5% from June ($5,742,051). Total sports betting handle in the state was $15,853,463 for July, a 150.1% rise from the $6,338,618 in June.
The West Virginia sportsbooks combined for $1,573,845 in revenue for the first month of the 2020-21 fiscal year, a spike of 177.1% compared to the $567,836 for the state in June.
WV Sports Betting Handle, July vs. June
| |
RETAIL |
MOBILE |
TOTAL |
| July |
$4.685M |
$11.169M |
$15.853M |
| June |
$597K |
$5.742M |
$6.338M |
| Change |
Up 685% |
Up 94.5% |
Up 150.1% |
Note: West Virginia reports numbers weekly rather than by calendar month. July represents July 1-Aug. 1; June represents June 1-30.
Mobile wagers represented 70% of the sports betting activity in July, as West Virginia’s retail betting amounted to $4,684,732 for the month, according to numbers reported by the state. Since FanDuel and DraftKings entered the state's sports betting fray in late August 2019, on the heels of the ill-fated BetLucky app, the percentage of the bets placed via mobile has continued to rise. In addition to those two sportsbook giants, BetMGM has joined the West Virginia mobile sports betting market in 2020.
Mobile dominated the sports betting handle in June in West Virginia, drawing more than 90% of the market.
It only took 11 weeks for the mobile weekly handle to surpass the retail portion for the first time in 2019. The gap continued to grow even before coronavirus concerns closed the state’s physical casinos this March. When that happened, online sports betting became the only option for several weeks. Mountaineer Casino (in New Cumberland), Wheeling Island (Wheeling), Hollywood Casino at Charles Town, Greenbriar (White Sulphur Springs) and Mardi Gras (Nitro) all reopened June 5. But sports betting remains closed at Wheeling Island and Mardi Gras.
West Virginia Gaming Options Growing
The West Virginia online gaming scene is growing along with its mobile sportsbooks.
DraftKings struck a partnership with Hollywood Casino at Charles Town to offer online casino games, making West Virginia the fourth state to have them (after New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware).
That meant that West Virginia reported an iGaming revenue summary for the first time. Already, after just a couple of weeks of activity, the Mountain State drew $28.5 million in iGaming handle in July and made $553,145.50 in revenue.
https://www.gambling.com/news/west-virginia-mobile-sports-betting-continuing-its-ascent-2287600