West Virginia Lottery Renews Casino Licenses

License renewals for West Virginia's five casinos recently were approved by the state Lottery Commission. Lottery Director John Myers said all paid their fees. He added Wheeling Island, Mardi Gras and Hollywood Casino are moving forward with sports betting apps, probably launching this fall. Sports betting is available on-site at Charles Town, the Greenbrier and Mountaineer.

The West Virginia Lottery Commission recently approved license renewals for the five casinos operating in the state. Lottery Director John Myers said all five had paid their annual licensing fees. “We’re glad to see they’re all well enough to re-up for another year,” Myers said.

Commissioners voted on each after receiving updates on their financial status from an outside auditing firm. The auditors commented on each casino and its parent company before commissioners voted. They noted the Greenbrier, owned by Governor Jim Justice and his family, still is awaiting payment from insurance companies due to the 2016 flood. The auditors said 2018 was the first profitable year for the Greenbrier’s casino.

The annual licensing fee is $2.5 million for Mountaineer Casino in Chester, Hollywood Casino at Charles Town, Wheeling Island Casino and Mardi Gras Casino in Cross Lanes. Calculated annually, the fee for the casino at the Greenbrier this year is $500,000.

Regarding sports betting, Myers said Delaware North, owner of Wheeling Island and Mardi Gras, informed the Lottery it will restart the process of creating a new app, following the shutdown of the BetLucky app last year.

In addition, Myers said Penn National, owner of Hollywood Casino at Charles Town, also is developing a new app. “The dates we’re hearing now are probably in the fall. Anyone we talk to now is probably saying football season,” Myers said. Meanwhile, sports betting is available on-site at Charles Town, the Greenbrier and Mountaineer.

Myers reported gross receipts for sports betting in May were nearly $800,000.