West Virginia January Gaming Numbers Down Over Shorter Period
West Virginia’s sports wagering activity to start the new year saw decreases across the board, but the reporting period also had fewer days.
The total sports betting handle in January was $50.7 million, a decline of 27.7% from December’s $70.1 million, but up from 43.4% from January 2020 ($35.3 million), according to official numbers released by the state on Friday.
RELATED: More on West Virginia sports betting and iGaming
January mobile sports betting at top West Virginia sportsbooks was $32.9 million, down 23% from December’s $42.8 million, but up a solid 62.2% from January 2020’s $20.3 million. The mobile handle for January represented increases in previous-month and year-over-year comparisons.
The January sports betting revenue was just under $4 million ($3,976,358), down 38.5% from December’s $6.5 million. It was up 44.6% from January 2020’s $2.75 million.
January’s state share of taxes registered $337,990, down from December’s $549,621.
West Virginia computes its sports betting figures weekly rather than monthly. January’s figures represent the period of four weeks from Jan. 3-30; December represented Nov.29-Jan. 2 (a five-week span).
The shorter period of reporting certainly contributed to the decline in December figures as well as the capacity limits at casinos still at 50% because of the coronavirus pandemic.
WV Sports Betting Handle & Revenue, January vs December
| Total handle | Mobile handle | Revenue | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | $50.700M | $32.923M | $3.976M |
| December | $70.134M | $42.776M | $6.466M |
| Change | Down 27.7% | Down 23.0% | Down 38.5% |
Note: West Virginia reports numbers weekly rather than by calendar month. January represents Jan. 3-30; December represents Nov. 29-Jan. 2.
iGaming Down Slightly To Start 2021
For iGaming, January’s handle was $99.1 million, down 9.1% from December’s $109 million. The January iGaming revenue ($2.8 million) marked a decrease of 10.7% from December’s $3.1 million.
West Virginia is one of five states that offers house-banked online casino games and peer-to-peer poker. Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Michigan, which launched its online gaming market in January, are the others. Nevada offers online poker along with the other five states.
DraftKings Casino, BetMGM and NetEnt are live in the West Virginia online casino market and will soon be joined by a fourth online casino.
In early December, Rush Street Interactive announced an agreement with Century Casinos to launch online casino at BetRivers.com. After licensing and regulatory approvals by the West Virginia Lottery, the online casino is set to launch in the second quarter of 2021.
Be first to get our exclusive sports offers!
Join today to stay up to date on your states gambling news and offers.
