West Virginia saw legal sports betting action decrease for the fourth consecutive month. However, online and retail operators combined to produce a 12% hold to take the sting off a lower handle.
The Mountaineer State, according to figures released Monday by the West Virginia Lottery, kicked off a new fiscal year in July by taking in $20.9 million in wagers, down 25.3% month-over-month. It was the lowest handle for West Virginia in over four years, but the state is approaching $250 billion in handle since sports betting went live in 2018.
Revenue took a lesser dip of 3.8% as July produced $2.5 million in profits, which was down 4% year-over-year, thanks to a 12% hold.
That marked the highest win rate of 2023 and was up nearly three points from June.
West Virginia sportsbooks paid out $213,519 in taxes in July, down from the $261,000 in the previous month.
Online sports betting made up $18.7 million of the overall handle and $2.1 million of the revenue, but retail, which took in $2.2 million in wagers, used a 19% hold to rack up $441,650 in revenue. The July win rate greatly improved from 2.2% in June.
The Greenbrier crushes online, loses in retail
The Greenbrier, which used FanDuel, BetMGM, and Golden Nugget, led West Virginia sports betting in July with an online handle of $8.8 million and revenue of $1.3 million, thanks to a hold of 14.3%.
Charles Town, partnered with DraftKings, Barstool Sportsbook, and PointsBet, came in second with a $8.2 million handle, but a 7.9% hold left it well behind its primary competitor with $643,449 of revenue.
Mountaineer, powered by Caesars and BetRivers, made $129,412 on a handle of $1.4 million.
Four of the five retail sportsbooks finished in the black. Mardi Gras was the big winner as it won 55% of the wagers it collected, leading to a $216,124 profit for July. The Greenbrier took a $32,771 loss on a handle of $83.237.
