At the end of the regular season college football schedule, betting handle in West Virginia fell for three consecutive weeks. Then bowl season and college hoops triggered a sizeable increase in betting for the two weeks ending January 4, according to PlayWV.com.
Sportsbooks accepted more than $7.7 million in bets for the week of December 28 and almost $9 million the next week, the second highest amount in the state’s history.
DraftKings and FanDuel accepted more than $4.3 million in handle for the week of January 4, the second-highest number of bets mobile sports betting apps have accepted, and just the third time they’ve exceeded $4 million in handle.
Retail locations have now generated more handle than mobile for seven consecutive weeks.
As for revenue, sportsbooks had two very profitable weeks. They earned over $725,000 for the week of December 28 and around $900,000 for the week ending January 4, a 24 percent jump.
The latest figures released by the West Virginia Lottery Commission since sports betting revenue tracking began in August 2018:
Handle: $281,360,035.14
Revenue: $26,592,614.82
Taxes: $2,659,261.48
Hollywood Casino at Charles Town finished at the top, with a solid week for December 28, accepting more than $4.8 million in bets, followed with $5.7 million in handle for the week ending January 4.
The Greenbrier finished second, with slightly more than $4 million in wagers for the two weeks.
Unlike Hollywood, the Greenbrier’s online app accounted for around 87 percent of the total handle.
For the week ending January 4, FanDuel accepted over $1.9 million in bets, its highest handle in five weeks.
Mountaineer Casino finished last among active books with just under $2 million in handle. Even without an online sportsbook, it accepted more than $1 million in wagers for the week ending December 28. This marked the third time it’s surpassed $1 million in the last five weeks.
Here’s how the sportsbooks rank for weekly handle for the two weeks ending January 4:
Hollywood Casino ($10,559,598.45)
The Greenbrier ($4,117,565.67)
Mountaineer Casino ($1,980,815.25)
Hollywood Casino also led the way in revenue generated. Its sportsbook earned more than $1 million for the duration of the two-week period. The $680,000 the book made for the week of Jan. 4 was Hollywood’s highest in 10 weeks.
While DraftKings had success, Hollywood’s retail location earned more both weeks. It made around $170,000 for the first week and then over $440,000 for the week ending January 4.
The Greenbrier came in second with almost $400,000. Its online platform with FanDuel earned around $99,000 for the week of December 28 and then over $210,000 the next week. The Greenbrier retail made nearly $65,000 in revenue for December 28. This was its best showing in five weeks.
Mountaineer Casino had two very different weeks. It earned around $230,000 the first week, and then proceeded to lose over $5,000 the next. This is the second time in a month that its sportsbook has been in the red. But the $230,000 in revenue was its best mark in 16 weeks.
