West Virginia is one of a handful of states in the US that currently offers online casino gaming. The state was the latest to launch services and has offered gambling options online now for a few months. The industry continues to see new sites launched and more games on offer. Player numbers are staying steady and the most recent revenue total reports show that weekly totals are growing. For the week ending on October 3, the state saw online casinos accepting over $17 million in bets.
The Weekly Details
This latest figure is the second time that the state has seen the betting handle surpass the $17 million mark. For BetMGM Casino and DraftKings, the two brought in just over $17.5 million in wagers, which is a new record for the state. From that amount, $571,241.70 in revenues were generated. The figures were released by the West Virginia Lottery.
So far, the industry has been live for three months and things are running smoothly. In just a four week time frame, the state has seen over $60 million in wagers placed. From that total, about $1.8 million was generated in revenues.
This is a good start for the state and it seems as though they can only go up from here. With players already having access to a nice selection of games, both BetMGM and DraftKings tend to add new content on a regular basis. So, players can always log in to find something new to explore.
With new gaming options, it keeps players entertained. Players are not going to come back again and again to play the same games as that can get boring. By changing things up, these operators continue to see high numbers of traffic.
FanDuel is set to launch an online casino in the state, so this will help the industry to be even larger than before. With more operators, there are more opportunities to play games and take advantage of promotions and incentives.
It is also important to consider that each retail casinos in the state with licensing for online gaming are allowed to have three online skins. This means that even more online casino sites could be launched in the future.
Help from COVID-19
It is important to note that while online gambling has been in the works for West Virginia for quite some time, services did not launch until after the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing. The pandemic certainly helped the new industry to flourish as people are staying at home more and need things to do.
Because there is online casino games to play, from slots to table games, it provides an outlet for entertainment that is safe and can be done in the comfort of home. Many people are still not comfortable with getting out and about, so the online gambling option is a great to have something to do from home.
It will be interesting to see if these totals continue on an upward trend. Will players log in regularly to take advantage of online casino games? Or if COVID-19 slows down, will players be more willing to go outside for entertainment?
