Online casino betting in the Mountain State is off to a terrific start. West Virginia online casinos totaled nearly $100 million in online handle during their first nine weeks on the market.

Currently, there are two mobile casino betting apps available.

DraftKings Casino was the first to launch on July 15 and was the only option in the WV industry for a few weeks. Then a month ago, on Aug. 26, BetMGM Casino made its debut in the state, as well.

The addition of another online casino has helped boost betting figures. Residents should expect more mobile platforms to release in the near future. Although, the West Virginia Lottery has confirmed no additional online casinos or sportsbooks, other than those already operating, have been approved.

The two WV online casinos that are live are doing quite well, though.

For the week of Sept. 12, the two online casinos combined to take more than $17 million in bets. The overall handle has exceeded $10 million in each of the last four weeks.

While it took just about nine weeks for online casinos to reach $100 million in bets, it took WV online sportsbooks about six months to do the same.

WV sportsbooks debuted mobile options in late Aug. 2019 and didn’t see $100 million in handle until the end of Feb. 2020.

Although the sample size is limited, this provides a good understanding of how big online casino gambling can get. Once more people are aware that it exists and other mobile apps launch, betting figures will only increase.

It’s also worth noting that these online casinos are posting impressive figures with plenty of sports available to bet on.

All four of the major American sports now have markets offered at sportsbooks. This includes NFL and college football betting.

Let’s take a deeper look at the WV online casino revenue report and compare how DraftKings and BetMGM performed during their first few weeks.

WV ONLINE CASINO HANDLE

Online casino betting seems to have found its groove. After starting out with some massive betting figures over the first three weeks, betting fell off slightly in the middle of August.

DraftKings Casino bounced back for the week ending Aug. 22. This was the last week there was only one betting app in the state.

It accepted over $10 million in wagers for the second time in six weeks.

Since then, the handle has continually grown slightly week-to-week. It reached nearly $12.7 million in bets the week of Aug. 29, then exceeded $13.7 million the following week.

Online casinos set a new record for overall handle most recently, taking in over $17.2 million in bets for Sept. 12. This is a 26% jump in the last two weeks of betting figures.

If this same increase occurs again this week, online casinos will accept over $21 million in handle.

While DraftKings Casino has found its stride within the WV market, BetMGM is still finding its way.

DraftKings is responsible for nearly $35 million in wagers over the last three weeks. During that same time period, BetMGM Casino’s handle is around $9 million.

Comparing the two isn’t exactly fair, however, as DraftKings has established itself and BetMGM just went live.

DraftKings’ first few weeks in the market were more impressive than their competitor, though.

The online casino’s very first week almost topped $7 million in bets. It followed that up with over $9 million in its second week and around $12 million in the third.

BetMGM started off with nearly $2 million in its opening week, but then dropped down in its second week.

Fortunately, it’s seemed to solidify its footing during the week of Sept. 12, when its online casino recorded over $5.4 million in bets.

WV ONLINE CASINO REVENUE

As BetMGM Casino becomes more recognized in the state, its betting figures will continue to increase and approach DraftKings’.

There is no question that being the first online casino to launch in the state has given DraftKings an advantage that it may never relinquish.

Although sports betting revenue can be volatile at times, online casino revenue in WV is more straight forward. In general, a higher betting handle creates more weekly revenue.

Of course, some sort of jackpot or a similar payout of notable size can offset this.

In total, the Mountain State has earned almost $1.6 million in revenue over the first nine weeks of online gambling.

This figure would be even higher if it wasn’t for the week of Aug. 22. For whatever reason, DraftKings Casino ended up in the negative, paying out around $24,000 that week.

Every other week has earned online casinos at least $109,000 in profits. Revenue has gone above $200,000 in four of the nine weeks.

Once again, there are encouraging signs moving forward. Online casino revenue had a new best in its last week of this report, making around $375,000 for the week of Sept. 12.

DraftKings’ revenue for the latest three weeks is about $475,000. At the same time, BetMGM Casino brought in just over $120,000.

The latest three-week span was actually less profitable than DraftKings’ first three weeks after launch. It earned over $550,000 during that time.

Like with its betting handle, BetMGM should see more wagers and revenue after its first month in a new market.

With the 15% privilege tax imposed on mobile betting, the state of WV has earned more than $200,000 in just over two months.

This is a great start for online casino betting in WV. Prospective operators need to move quickly in releasing their app before DraftKings and BetMGM own the entire market share.

This article is a reprint from PlayWV.com. To view the original story and comment, click here.