When it comes to online gambling in the United States, most of the updates and news centers around New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Other states like West Virginia offer iGaming as well, but because the state is smaller and not a major player just yet, news doesn’t really stand out. But it is important to look at each state to see how they are faring in the current economy. For months now, West Virginia has seen steady growth. However, this past April, the reports changed.
The Mountain State actually saw a drop in earnings, to $3.8 million for the month. This was about $150,000 below the March monthly totals. While it wasn’t a great month for the state, the online casino operators were able to generate over $1 million in weekly revenues two times.
Reduced Bets
The industry saw a lower amount for April due to a reduced betting total. The overall handle decreased by over $8 million from March. This is a huge difference and shows why the revenue totals were so low. For the month, the online gaming operators in the state were able to see almost $115 million in bets.
When compared to March, the drop was 4% in total. For BetMGM Casino WV, the operator was able to claim the top spot again, earning over $1.9 million in April. The brand is one of the newer ones in the market, but they have been able to overtake the competition to reach that number one spot.
April is the third month running that BetMGM has been the top earner in the state. Not far behind was DraftKings Casino WV, with just over $1.7 million in earnings. Both of these online casino operators were able to earn over $500,000 in weekly revenues once during the month.
BetRivers is a new operator to the market, having launched just a few weeks before the month came to an end. Operating via the Greenbrier licensing, the online gaming operator was able to earn $135,000 in just a few weeks. It is expected that this number will increase greatly as the full month totals start to roll in.
Why the Low Bets?
There is no clear-cut answer as to why the bets slowed down in April. In general, during the spring and summer months, betting does tend to slow down due to the change in the weather. As the temperatures get warmer, people tend to get out and about.
Since last year, the US has been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and people have been stuck indoors, isolated for quite some time. It could be that residents in West Virginia are just enjoying some time outside and will be playing online gambling games again once the weather cools.
The next few months will be a good indication as to what the state can expect for revenues during the warmer months. It is expected that May, June, and July might see dips as well from the first of 2021 due to the change in weather, as people start to spend more time outside and go on vacation.
