West Virginia internet casino revenue totals $16.2 million for April

The West Virginia Lottery reported internet casino gaming revenue totaled $16.2 million for April, a slight increase from last year.

Revenue was up 3.4% from last year, mainly due to the efforts of BetRivers and Caesars Palace as well as Betly continuing its first year of operations through Mardi Gras Casino. The $428.2 million in wagering across the state’s platforms was a year-over-year increase of 4%.

The state received $2.1 million in taxes after administrative fees were deducted, bringing the year-to-date total to $9 million. Revenue for April was down 32.5% from March’s record of close to $24 million as operators failed to notch back-to-back months with at least $20 million for the first time in West Virginia history since launching operations in July 2020.

All four casinos licensed to house internet casino gaming platforms had month-over-month declines from the record-setting March, but only Mountaineer Casino — home to BetRivers and Caesars Palace Online — showed year-over-year gains among the three legacy operators. Combined operator winnings there totaled $2.6 million, up 16.2% from April 2023. The $69.3 million in wagering at the two sites represented a 33.9% increase from a year ago.

Hollywood Casino at Charles Town, which hosts DraftKings and Fanatics Casino, had the bigger year-over-year decline of the other two operators. Revenue from the two websites dipped 3.7% to $6.4 million despite a 4.5% increase in handle to $170.4 million. It was also the first time since last October that Hollywood failed to generate the most drop among the four licensees.

That is because The Greenbrier had a combined drop of $172.7 million from FanDuel, BetMGM, and Golden Nugget — a 12.2% drop from last April. Revenue slipped only 2.8% to $6.5 million as The Greenbrier claimed the top revenue spot for the first time since January.

Betly cleared $5 million in all-time revenue in its 11th month of operations after reporting $611,800 in winnings for April. That was its second-best month since launch, trailing only the $846,400 won in March. Its $15.9 million in wagers placed ranked third overall, slotting behind March’s record $19.8 million and last December’s $17.5 million.

Despite the slower growth in April, both handle and revenue are up substantially the first four months of the year compared to the same period in 2023. The $70.8 million in revenue is an increase of 36.6% and outpacing the increase in drop, which is 25.5% to $1.83 billion.

Tax receipts are currently $2.4 million ahead of last year’s pace and tracking to be more than $7 million ahead of the near-$20 million collected in 2023.