The West Virginia Lottery Commission recently approved full iGaming licenses for the five casinos operating in the state: Mardi Gras, Wheeling Island, Mountaineer, Hollywood Casino at Charles Town and the Greenbrier Resort. Previously the casinos had been granted 270-day interim licenses. Each venue paid $250,000 for a 5-year license.
The Lottery Commission authorized allowing casino license holders to apply for an iGaming license earlier this year, following approval by the legislature. In November, iGaming generated $339,000 in revenue, according to West Virginia Lottery data.
Overall gambling revenue for November was $72 million, a $12 million drop compared with November last year. On-site and online sports betting and iGaming accounted for about $798,000 in revenue for November.
After five record-setting months, Limited Video Lottery adjusted gross revenue fell significantly in November. Revenue from 7,465 video lottery machines in 1,213 bars, clubs and fraternal organizations statewide decreased to $32.7 million in November, down 12 percent of $4.6 million from October, and down $40,000 from November 2019. The November drop-off follows several months of record-setting revenue that occurred after the bars and clubs were shut down for more than 10 weeks due to Covid-19. The all-time record month was June, the first full month after the shutdown, when LVL took in $40.88 million. For the first five months of fiscal 2020-21, LVL revenue is up about $6 million compared to the same period for fiscal 2019-2020.
Sales of traditional scratch-off and online lottery tickets also dropped in November to $14.3 million, down $3.6 million from October. However, racetrack video lottery grossed $39.7 million, up $4 million from October, and down just $10,000 compared to November 2019. Casino table games grossed $2.88 million, up about $770,000 from October, and roughly the same as November 2019 numbers.
For the month, overall Lottery revenue totaled $90.46 million, down $3.34 million from October, but up about $1.21 million from November 2019. The state took in Lottery profits of $40.82 million in November, down $710,000 from October.
For the first five months of fiscal 2020-21, the lottery grossed $463.34 million, a drop of $7.51 million from the same period in 2019. For the fiscal year to date, the state’s share of lottery profits was $207.75 million, a decrease of $4 million from the same period in 2019.
Meanwhile, Rush Street Interactive recently announced it will partner with Century Casinos to offer its iGaming app in West Virginia, making it the fourth mobile casino operator in the state. Rush Street’s BetRivers brand will be one of the skins offered by Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort in Park in New Cumberland, pending West Virginia Lottery approval next spring.
BetRivers West Virginia customers age 21 and up may register for an account now and enjoy free-play casino games on the site while the company awaits state approval.
RSI President Richard Schwartz said, “In neighboring Pennsylvania, RSI is the clear leader in online casino market share, thanks to our secure and reliable platform, player-first attitude, transparent approach to customer service, large game library, fast payouts and innovative playing experiences,. In partnership with Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort, we are pleased to have the chance to offer gaming fans in West Virginia the unparalleled experience and service our customers have come to expect via BetRivers.com.”
Through October, RSI’s PlaySugarHouse online casino posted a slots handle of $1.8 billion in Pennsylvania for the 2020-21 fiscal year. Statewide handle was $4.3 billion for the same period. No other iGaming slots operator achieved $750 million in that time frame.
Currently, DraftKings and BetMGM offer iGaming in West Virginia, and Golden Nugget Online Gaming recently acquired an online skin with the Greenbrier.
The West Virginia legislature approved iGaming in 2019 but finalizing and implementing regulations took more than a year. For the first three months since its September launch, iGaming—online slots and table games–took in $288.7 million, producing $7.3 million in revenue for operators and $1.1 million in taxes for the state.
In comparison, sports betting, which launched in West Virginia last year, has a total handle of $239.5 million for fiscal year 2020-21, which started in July; online wagers account for $164.3 million of that amount. Total sportsbook revenue is $18 million, including $1.5 million in tax revenue for the state.
Besides West Virginia and Pennsylvania, online casino gaming also is legal in New Jersey and Delaware, and will debut in Michigan within the next few weeks.
