West Virginia sportsbooks kicked off 2024 in impressive fashion, crafting a hold just shy of 13% for January according to a compilation of weekly figures provided by the West Virginia Lottery. 64193w
Operators claimed just over $6 million in BetMGM combined for close to $5.4 million.
The West Virginia Lottery does not break out specific handle and revenue figures for each mobile operator when a casino has multiple skins.
Handle for the opening month of the year totaled more than $46.4 million, up 3.7% from the same period last year, but also down 24.4% compared to December. Revenue, though, was up 64.7% compared to the first month of 2023 as the near-13% win rate — 10th-highest all-time in the state — was more than 4.8 percentage points higher. It was the ninth consecutive month the statewide hold was 9% or better.
The state collected just over $512,000 in taxes to open 2024, over $201,000 more compared to January 2023.
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FanDuel and BetMGM edged out DraftKings, ESPN BET, and Fanatics Sportsbook when it came to January handle in the Mountaineer State, finishing less than $30,000 shy of $20 million compared $18.3 million for the other three operators. But DraftKings and FanDuel gained separation in revenue thanks to a lofty 16.5% hold that resulted in more than $3.3 million in winnings.
The three skins connected to Charles Town fared well against the public, fashioning an 11.3% win rate to keep nearly $2.1 million in winnings. The West Virginia Lottery does not disclose promotional spend, but the combined handle from the three mobile apps connected to the PENN Entertainment venue was down 31.6% from the $26.7 million worth of bets placed in December.
Betly Sportsbook, which conducts mobile betting through Mardi Gras Casino, had a sub-1% hold as it finished with only $3,429 from more than $374,000 handle.
The five retail sportsbooks also got off to a strong start with close to $516,000 in revenue thanks to a hold just over 10%. Charles Town provided the lion’s share of those winnings as it notched an 11.9% win rate to keep nearly $345,000 of the $2.9 million handled.
