Fit For A King: DraftKings Casino Takes Over $16 Million In Wagers In First Weeks
Online casinos in West Virginia are alive and well.
After just two weeks, DraftKings WV Casino is generating some fairly impressive casino revenue figures.
West Virginia’s first online casino accepted over $16 million in wagers through the first two weeks of gambling. This report includes the online gaming figures from the weeks ending July 18 and July 25.
DraftKings expanded from its online sports betting app into casino gaming effortlessly. The online casino is available through the DraftKings WV Sportsbook, as well as through a separate standalone casino app.
The mobile casino platform went live in WV on July 15, and is offered on both iOS and Android devices.
Although residents are able to return to retail casinos within the state, online gambling expansion was necessary. People love to enjoy time out at the casino, however, the convenience of wagering from your mobile device is unparalleled.
As we’ve seen with the growth of sports betting in WV and around the country, people prefer to bet on their phones. While online casinos might not match the productivity of some of the popular land-based locations, their traffic will certainly help.
The release of casino apps comes at the perfect time for the state, as well. Since casinos and many businesses were forced to close due to COVID-19, the WV Lottery is in need of some added revenue. Online casinos could become even more vital if the state enters another form of a shutdown again in the coming months.
Let’s break down the first two weeks of online gambling with DraftKings and compare casino figures to sports betting.
The numbers were so impressive they were even mentioned on PlayUSA to Z, our weekly national online casino and sports betting news program.
WV Online Casino Handle
Online casino betting figures were strong in WV. Considering that the DraftKings Casino is the only option available and it’s existed just for two weeks, the initial revenue report is encouraging.
In the first week, DraftKings saw a total of $6,922,406 in online casino wagers.
During the second week, the mobile app took in $9,447,611.30.
Possibly even more exciting than the figures themselves is that there was growth between the weeks. The almost $9.5 million wagered in the second week is a 37% increase compared to figures from July 18.
Of course, the longer the online casino is around, the more popular it will become. It’s difficult for betting apps to build momentum until gamblers in the state are aware they’re available.
DraftKings should expect figures to continue to rise in the coming weeks.
While this small sample size seems like a good start, online casinos in WV obviously still have a ways to go.
DraftKings’ online casino in NJ helped earn the Resorts in Atlantic City almost $16 million in casino revenue in June. It may take some time before the WV online casino is pulling in those figures.
On the other hand, online casinos did significantly better than online sportsbooks in WV during their debut.
In the first two weeks of online sports betting with DraftKings and FanDuel Sportsbook, the total handle just exceeded $2.7 million.
Since DraftKings Casino was able to bring in over $16 million by itself in its first two weeks, online gambling in WV might have a bright future.
WV Online Casino Revenue
Revenue figures from the first two weeks of online casino gaming were solid, too.
In total, DraftKings earned $345,579.95 in profits from casino bets. Similar to the handle figures, revenue also increased between the first two weeks.
DraftKings generated $139,171.75 in revenue for the first week, while it made $206,408.20 the week of July 25. This is a 48% jump over the first two weeks since the app launched.
If this trend is able to continue, the online casino will make around $300,000 next week, and then $450,000 the following week.
Overall, this would equate to nearly $1.1 million in earnings for the first month of online casino gambling.
There is a lot of optimism when looking at how DraftKings Casino did when compared to online sportsbooks.
Online casinos had a better opening two-week period for revenue, as well.
FanDuel and DraftKings earned around $45,000 less in sports betting than DraftKings Casino made.
If online casino betting can keep growing, then WV will see plenty of money for its state budget in the near future.
WV Online Casino vs. Online Sportsbooks
According to the betting figures, online casino gambling is more popular than sports betting in just two weeks.
The $16.3 million in mobile casino bets outdid the sports betting handle from the same previous two weeks. Sportsbooks took in about $6.6 million in total handle during that time.
Despite retail casinos only reopening at 50% capacity, online platforms are always available. Now that some major sports have returned, sports betting is starting to pick back up, too.
This didn’t stop the single online casino from beating the three online sportsbooks after just entering the market.
DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM Sportsbook WV accounted for around $4.8 million in sports bets over the last two weeks.
Sportsbooks were able to earn more revenue, though.
For the two weeks, sports betting revenue totaled more than $730,000, compared to the $345,000 from online casinos.
However, the breakdown for online wagering was much closer.
Online sportsbooks made slightly over $450,000 in the last two weeks, only about $105,000 more than DraftKings Casino.
It seems as though it’s just a matter of time before other online casinos launch in WV. By then, sports betting will likely take a back seat to the gambling figures brought in through mobile casino apps.
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