West Virginia’s online sports betting launch was difficult. Unlike subsequent sports betting launches, West Virginia’s sports betting launch wasn’t derailed by the coronavirus. Instead, its only online sportsbook operator went offline shortly after its launch. DraftKings and FanDuel saved the day at the end of August 2019. But that left about five months of lost online sports betting revenue. It’s almost refreshing to hear about a sports betting industry disrupted by something besides COVID-19. But sports betting’s slow growth in West Virginia highlights the impact of a botched online sports betting launch.
And that’s all before the pandemic shut casinos down for three months.
West Virginia’s Promising Start to Sports Betting
West Virginia officials debated the merits of sports betting before it was legal. The West Virginia Legislature passed a sports betting bill in March 2018. That Supreme Court wouldn’t release an opinion until May 2018. However, West Virginia wanted to be ready for the legalization of sports betting. Its casinos had lost revenue to surrounding states, so its gambling industry was needy.
The earliest debates were about the specifics of sports betting. House Delegates had different visions of West Virginia’s sports betting industry. Here are two of the amendments West Virginian officials proposed before the final bill passed:
| Representative | Party | Bill or Amendment | Proposed Changes/Features |
| Cindy Frich | Republican | Amendment | No Mobile Sports Betting |
| Larry Rowe | Democrat | Amendment | Limit Side Bets on Athlete Performance |
Both amendments were rejected in the interest of maximizing West Virginia’s competitiveness. It didn’t want to fall behind emerging sports betting markets. It wanted to spring past them. West Virginia’s bill positioned the state to become one of the most permissive early entrants into the sports betting market. The bill passed in both West Virginian chambers:
- 77-22 in the House of Delegates
- 25-9 in the Senate
Two months after the West Virginian bill passed, the Supreme Court ruled PASPA unconstitutional in a 7-2 split. The West Virginian bill went into effect, making West Virginia the fifth state to legalize sports betting. Retail sports betting went live in August 2018 and online sports betting followed close behind in December 2018.
When West Virginia’s Only Online Sportsbook Went Offline
All the optimism 2018 built was shattered by 2019’s five-month online sportsbook conflict. BetLucky was the first online sportsbook to launch in West Virginia. Wheeling Island Casino had an agreement to provide the BetLucky app to its customers. But a conflict over the app’s data on BetLucky’s back end shut the app down. In March 2019, West Virginia lacked an online sports betting outlet. DraftKings and FanDuel didn’t enter the market until the last week of August. That’s a bad start.
Online sports betting had a resurgence when DraftKings and FanDuel entered the market. BetMGM arrived in January 2020, giving West Virginia three online sportsbooks to weather the pandemic. The pandemic disrupted retail sportsbooks, but online sportsbooks gave the sports betting industry some momentum. In September 2020, 77% of West Virginia’s sports betting revenue came from online wagers. The online sports betting market is still growing. William Hill came online in September 2020. Online sports betting will likely continue dominating the sports betting industry as operators continue to take interest in West Virginia.
West Virginian Sports Betting Revenue And Taxes
In September 2020, West Virginia sports bettors wagered $76.9 million. West Virginia taxes sportsbook gross revenues at 10%. It’s low compared to some other states, like Rhode Island and Delaware. Few other states have tax rates lower. West Virginia seems to be keeping its tax rate low to appeal to operators and attract them to West Virginia.
This business-friendly approach isn’t boosting sports betting handle, though. That’s low compared to other states, even states with younger sports betting industries than West Virginia. Colorado sportsbooks processed $207 million in betting handle in September 2020 – Colorado’s fifth month in the industry. Michigan processed $33.5 million in sports wagers in the same month. That doesn’t sound like much, but Michigan did that without online sports betting. That’s a strong showing for a state that only had retail sports betting.
West Virginian sports betting still has room to grow, but its growth may be stunted by the states around it. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Tennessee aren’t far away, which may be pressuring West Virginia’s sports betting market. If those states are worth the drive, West Virginia may have to watch how competitive their sportsbook offerings are.
Sports betting taxes will go to the:
- State Lottery Fund
- Public Employees Insurance Agency Financial Stability Fund
The State Lottery Fund goes toward education, and the PEIA Stability Fund finances medical insurance for state employees. West Virginia only made $1 million in tax revenue during its first fiscal year of sports betting. We won’t know what a mature market will mean for sports betting until we get another year of data. But a steady year of online sports betting will make a big difference for sports betting in West Virginia. It’s where most of the industry’s money comes from.
West Virginia Online Sports Betting
West Virginia began 2018 with a competitive sports betting bill, but 2019 hit the sports betting industry like a bus. Losing the only online sports betting operator for five months cost West Virginia a lot of money. Then 2020 brought a pandemic that challenged bettors and sportsbook companies alike. But 2021 may be West Virginia’s sports betting year. As vaccinations increase, the pandemic will soon come closer to ending. Bettors can get back to work and get some extra money in their pockets. They’ll have more money to spend on entertainment products, like sportsbooks. West Virginia’s sportsbook industry has been mired in hardship. But it has all the pieces of a robust sports betting industry in place. If you need a starter course on sports betting, read through our Gambling 101 guides. It’ll help get you started as the world returns to normal.
