DraftKings Prepares To Relaunch Mobile Betting In West Virginia

• DraftKings is slated to take its online betting product live within weeks.
• The Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races has partnered with DraftKings for statewide mobile betting.
• With mobile wagering, WV should be able to at least double its current handle and revenue numbers.

CHARLESTON, W.V. – Online sports betting is making its return to West Virginia as DraftKings prepares for a soft launch of its platform. For the Mountain State, mobile betting is the missing piece in an otherwise healthy sports betting puzzle.

DraftKings will launch its platform in partnership with the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races.

West Virginia’s two Delaware North racinos – Wheeling Island and the Mountaineer Casino – initially offered online wagering. Unfortunately, the service has been suspended for months due to a legal dispute.

On March 6, right before the start of the lucrative March Madness tournament, Delaware North shut down its BetLucky app. Delaware North has since sued Miomni Gaming, the company that was operating the backend of the BetLucky system.

With DraftKings taking over, West Virginia sports betting is in decidedly better hands.

In nearby New Jersey, DraftKings operates the state’s second-largest sportsbook. There, more than 80% of the book’s revenues come from online betting.

Upon the DraftKings mobile launch, West Virginia will again become the third US state with domestic online betting. Nevada and the aforementioned New Jersey are the others.

The West Virginia Lottery has recently completed testing the DraftKings app for legal compliance. The online sportsbook should go live within weeks.

For Revenue, Online Is The Thing

Most states considering legalization of sports betting understand that mobile betting is critical. Very few states have intentionally left online wagering out of their proposals.

In making sports betting legal, the goal for states is to maximize tax revenues. Online, mobile betting is the key to that. In Nevada, more than 65 percent of sports betting takes place online. In New Jersey, that figure is over 80 percent.

Looking at West Virginia sports betting revenues, it’s clear that something was always amiss with the product. Under the custodianship of Miomni, West Virginia mobile betting accounted for only 10 percent of the state’s taxable receipts.

By all accounts, statewide mobile betting should account for at least half of a state’s total betting handle. The contribution of mobile betting in West Virginia has not come close to that.

With DraftKings, that should change practically overnight.

In just over eight months of availability, West Virginia sportsbooks have turned a handle of $114.2 million and earned $11 million in revenue.

Assuming that the demand for sports betting is more or less uniform around the country, WV trails almost all its peers.

West Virginia sees about $7.44 in monthly wagers per person. In New Jersey, legal sports betting sees a handle of $39.05 per resident per month. Nevada’s monthly per capita handle is $136.96.

Without mobile, those latter two figures would be cut tremendously. New Jersey would see about $7.81 per person, while Nevada would see roughly $45.20 per person.

West Virginia won’t ever approach the raw numbers of Nevada or New Jersey, clearly. But a competent mobile betting product should at least double its handle and revenue figures going forward.

Anything less would be considered an outright Miomni-like failure.

News tags: DraftKings | Hollywood Casino | mobile | West Virginia