New Jersey sports betting big gun DraftKings is set to bring live mobile betting to West Virginia sometime next week.
The state’s Lottery Commission has given it their approval to launch a state-wide sports betting app with immediate effect
It will fill the three-month sports-betting vacuum left by a technical dispute. This led to the sportsbook apps at the Delaware North’s Wheeling Island and Mardi Gras Casinos being shut down.
For 11 weeks they had offered both retail and online betting via an app called BetLucky. However, a partnership dispute saw that end in a lawsuit being filed. It is ongoing.
DraftKings, along with FanDuel, is one of the US’s sports fantasy giants. It was also the first sportsbook to open in New Jersey when betting became legal a year ago. Today, it is a Garden State sportsbook market leader shaded only by FanDuel.
The go-ahead to DraftKings was given at the monthly meeting of the West Virginia State Lottery Commission on Wednesday.
Online spots betting Tests complete
Lottery Director John Myers told the West Virginia Metro News on Thursday his office had completed testing at Hollywood Casino. A letter of approval to the Charles Town Casino and DraftKings was being drafted. It is expected that after further staff training, they would go live in the middle of next week
Myers was hesitant to estimate how much revenue online sports betting would bring to the state.
He said: “We’re still kind of working towards putting our arms around it. This is simply because we’ve been in-and-out of it.
“The mobile app was very successful when it was running at the Delaware North properties. In fact, in some weeks, it out-performed retail at those locations.”
A review of financial data from the two casinos revealed the following: Mobile taxable receipts from Wheeling Island exceeded its retail receipts in seven of the 11 weeks before the closure. Mardi Gras’ online receipts were five times higher than retail during the same period.
It also showed that of the $114.2 million in sports wagers made, $79.7 million of that handle came via Hollywood.
DraftKings signed with Hollywood last December
DraftKings signed a licensing agreement with Penn National Gaming, which owns Hollywood Casino, last December. It was tasked with providing the Casino with a mobile sportsbook platform.
DraftKings also operates a retail sportsbook at the Scarlet Pearl Casino in Mississippi.
In West Virginia, it will offer betting on a wide range of professional, US college and international sports. All the usual betting options will be available including money-line, futures, prop and live in-play wagers
Along with Hollywood Casino, retail sports betting is currently available in West Virginia at two other venues.
One is Mountaineer Casino in New Cumberland, where William Hill manages the sportsbook. The other is The Greenbrier, a resort in Sulphur Springs where FanDuel is the responsible party.
