West Virginia Has Second-Worst Sports Betting Month in Two Years

The legal sports betting industry in the state of West Virginia is in a slump. The West Virginia Lottery on Monday released their legal sports betting revenue report for the month of June, and it revealed not only expected seasonal month-over-month declines in betting activity at the state's best sportsbooks, but also double-digit year-over-year handle and revenue drops.

Retail sports betting outlets and West Virginia sports betting slipped under the $30 million handle mark for the first time since August and generated its lowest total since July of last year. With nothing on the betting menus other than baseball for the next few months, the question remains in the Mountaineer State - how low will the monthly sports betting activity go?

West Virginia handle dips 12% from May

Sports bettors in the Mountaineer State spent $28.06 million at their retail sports betting outlets and with West Virginia sports betting apps in June. It represents a month-over-month 12% drop from the $35.14 million taken in by the state's providers in May.

Perhaps the more troubling trend for West Virginia sportsbooks is the difference in betting activity from June 2022, when compared to June 2023. The $28.06 million handle last month is an eye-opening 15.7% drop from the sports betting totals from June 2022.

West Virginia sports betting apps were responsible for $25 million of the overall handle in the Mountaineers State in June - retail outlets made up the other $3 million in sports betting activity.

Revenues took a hit, too

It wasn't just the West Virginia legal sports betting handle that fell in June. Revenues for the states sports betting providers also took a hit during West Virginia's second-worst sports betting month in two years.

Retail providers and West Virginia sports betting apps combined for $2.61 million in revenues in June, which is a 25.4% decline from the profits reported in May. A smaller handle and a drop in hold rate contributed to the slide.

West Virginia sportsbooks' hold was 9.3% in June, down from 10.8% in May.

Taxes paid to state and local coffers amounted to $261,000 in June, which represents a $33,000 drop from the $294,361 in May.

The only good news from the Virginia Lottery sports betting report was the so-far fiscal-year tax contribution figure of $5.3 million. That's an 18% improvement from the same period last year.

Charles Town has highest handle, the Greenbrier tops in revenues

The battle to be the most successful West Virginia sports betting partnership came out as a split decision in June. Charles Town, which has DraftKings, Barstool Sportsbook, and PointsBet on their team led the way with a combined $14.04 million handle, with $1.05 million in revenue.

It was Greenbrier however and their partnerships with FanDuel, BetMGM and Golden Nugget that produced the most June revenues thanks to a 12.2% hold. Greenbrier reported $1.4 million in June revenues off of an $11.5 million handle.

Mountaineer, which has partnerships with Caesars and BetRivers was a distant third with a $1.14 million June West Virginia handle and $113,672 in revenue.

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