The return of NFL and college football couldn’t have come at a better time for West Virginia’s legal sports betting operators.
After watching the overall handle decrease for five consecutive months, sports betting in West Virginia finally saw things go in a different direction with a September that brought in $49.9 million in wagers.
That handle was 150% higher than the $19.9 million from August and marked the most wagering dollars in the state since December 2022.
Revenue also rose 109% month-over-month to $4.8 million while the hold actually slipped from 11.7% in August to 9.6% in September. Sportsbooks will take the uptick in volume, which produced higher profits, after the slow summer in West Virginia.
A bounce back was expected with football season beginning in full. This strong September handle was only about 9% higher than the same month in 2023, but revenue was down 25% year-over-year.
Operators in the Mountaineer State paid out $407,993 in taxes to the state.
Online sports betting made up nearly 90% of the overall handle. Retail hauled in over $841,000 in revenue on a hold of 15.9%.
Charles Town leads online wagering
Charles Town, with its partnerships with DraftKings, PointsBet, and Barstool, narrowly led West Virginia with a mobile handle of $21.2 million.
The Greenbrier, which is powered by FanDuel, BetMGM, and the Golden Nugget, finished a close second with a handle of $20.4 million. Those six operators combined to rake in $3.3 million in revenue.
Mountaineer, which uses Caesars and BetRivers, didn’t have as good a run, accounting for revenue of $125,000 on a handle of $2.3 million.
Retail runs hot
Mountaineer’s brick-and-mortar sportsbook was a different story, as it recorded a 31.6% hold on a handle of $688,000.
Charles Town was an even bigger winner with a 20% win rate on a handle north of $640,000.
Wheeling Island Casino posted a respectable 15% hold on a handle of over $573,000, while The Greenbrier produced a retail handle of $323,000 on a hold of 25%.
The Mardi Gras was the lone brick-and-mortar sportsbook in West Virginia to take a loss, as it paid out more than $182,000 on a handle of $589,500.
