West Virginia's First-Week Sports Betting Results Strong

West Virginia is all geared up to make a change in its fortune. You may wonder how. Gaming and sports betting are the key. The state notched up $300,000 in net revenue over the first week that sports betting became legal. The results are definitely not to be snubbed, and extrapolating from the present results, West Virginia may be raking in well over $1 million every month.

West Virginia at the Helm

The report came from West Virginia Lottery Commission, indicating that $320,000 have been wagered at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races. The property has an ongoing partnership with one of the best-established names in the industry – William Hill. Even though, West Virginia has not been the first company to adopt the segment, it has certainly been one of the first to benefit from it.
Following the defeat of PASPA earlier in May, West Virginia was outpaced by four fellow states before local lawmakers gave the go-ahead to sports betting in the state. The Hollywood Casino and Hills kicked off their betting on August 30.
It’s worth noting that West Virginia’s operations are limited to just several physical venues, which narrows down the potential profits from the activity. However, online betting is still not mandated by law, which makes accepting wagers over the wire illegal. There has been a lot of consolidation, too, though. It’s not just William Hill who are seeking a piece of the action. The Greenbrier casino have reached out to FanDuel to launch their own betting terminals.

Drawing Parallels with Other States

Apparently, West Virginia is starting on a modest note with its latest results generated through gambling. However, the state could potentially catch up to other places, such as Delaware where betting proceedings have been going on the up. In comparison, Delaware has generated $22 million in wagers since the activities started back in June.
The legislative patchwork in the United States remains a bit dubious at best, as many states are preparing to launch their operations, but others are not signalling any readiness to do so. The hoping is that when the dozen or so states do finally legalize their sports betting activities, others will be tempted to issue licenses to local casinos, which will be suffering and losing customers in the meanwhile.
Recently, MGM also signed up a partnership allowing it to operate sports betting activities. The majority of states clearly still choose not to participate in any form, although there are those that are shaping up to be the bastions of the activity, including:

  • Nevada
  • New Jersey
  • Delaware
  • Pennsylvania
  • West Virginia
  • Mississippi
  • Rhode Island
  • New York

More Action is Needed in Due Time

However, there have been plenty of positive signs that West Virginia’s profits will only go up from hereon. The adoption of innovation such as online gaming and betting can significantly boost these prospects, although it could be quite some time before West Virginia sees its betting operations scale to the Internet realms. In the meanwhile, we will keep track of the developments.