West Virginia Online Sports Betting Handle Jumps By $9.2M

Football is back, and with it comes a nice return for West Virginia sports betting.

The Mountaineer State saw a sports betting handle of $46.9 million in September — roughly a $13 million jump from August. West Virginia’s online sports betting handle increased as well, rising from $28 million in August to around $37.2 million in September, or an increase of $9.2 million.

In total, West Virginia saw $6.97 million in sports betting revenue for September.

West Virginia boasts an active sports betting market. West Virginia University and Marshall call the state home, and it also borders states with high-profile college and NFL teams.

And with college football and NFL football now in full swing, it’s no surprise that sports betting numbers rose from August to September, despite there being one fewer weekend in September. The rising popularity of online betting reared its head in September, too, as more than half of the state’s sports betting came from mobile devices.

West Virginia sports betting numbers down compared to last year

Sports betting as a whole, though, was down last month compared to September 2021. That month, the state saw a handle of $60.1 million, with $45.8 million coming from online bets. It collected $7.1 million in revenue.

There are a few things that factor into the slight decline in numbers. For starters, one of the biggest reasons is that September 2022 had one fewer weekend than September 2021. Fans of college and professional football had one fewer opportunity this past month to bet than they did a year ago.

The decline could have also been a result, in part, of customers cooling off sportsbook promotions. West Virginia doesn’t boast as many sportsbooks as other states — say, New Jersey or Arizona. As the market matures, it will eventually balance itself out, as with any industry.

It’s worth keeping an eye on the state’s sports betting numbers as the calendar year goes on. In 2021, West Virginia saw its largest handle in October ($77.7 million) and November ($84.3 million).

West Virginia online casino numbers drop from August

The state’s online casino handle dipped from August to September.

West Virginia saw an online casino handle of $282,169,332 last month — a 13.9% drop from the $327,615,368 handle in August. The average weekly handle, though, was higher, given that there was one fewer week last month than in August.

That average came out to $70.5 million a week for September, compared to $65.5 million in August.

West Virginia’s online casino revenue number reached $10,264,190 last month, too.

What to know about sports betting in West Virginia

Sports bettors have gambled more than $100 million since the state relaunched its online sports betting presence in 2019.

West Virginia sports bettors have plenty of options to choose from. There are seven legal online sportsbooks in the state:

1. DraftKings
2. Caesars
3. BetMGM
4. BetRivers
5. FanDuel
6. PointsBet
7. Betly

West Virginia bettors can place bets on college sports and the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and other main sporting leagues. Esports betting is also legal in the state.

There are five retail sportsbooks in West Virginia:

1. Hollywood Casino (Charles Town)
2. Mountaineer Sportsbook (New Cumberland)
3. FanDuel at the Greenbrier (White Sulphur Springs)
4. Wheeling Island (Wheeling Island)
5. Mardi Gras (Cross Lanes)