Sports Betting in West Virginia Takes Off Online Betting

FanDuel App Already a Success in West Virginia

By Amelia Walker Senior Content Writer Updated: 21 September 2019

Amelia Walker Senior Content Writer

Amelia Walker is a Senior Content Writer at Betting.US. She has a law degree and deep knowledge of the gambling laws in the United States. Her mission is to keep players informed about responsible gambling, while her passion for sports helps her create useful guides. Amelia has over a decade of experience in betting, which has positioned her as a trusted voice among our readers.

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On August 26th, sports fans in West Virginia got access to the FanDuel app, allowing them to bet on one of the largest sports betting platforms in the country. The app has now nearly been available for a month, and early signs show that it’s proving massively popular with gamblers throughout the state.

The FanDuel app works in collaboration with The Greenbrier, and tax receipts show that just bets via FanDuel have already contributed nearly $100,000 in taxes – not bad for the app’s first month in existence. It’s not known how many app users contributed towards this figure, as FanDuel was not able to provide an accurate answer.

The launch was given a massive boost by the fact that the NFL rebooted for the season recently, and Mike Raffensperger, the Chief Marketing Officer for FanDuel, stated:

“There’s probably no better time a year to launch than around the start of September and the kick-off to football. I think West Virginians have responded admirably as admirable sports fans do. They have bought a lot of activity both in NFL play and college football.”

Football Leading the Way

Looking at the bets that have been placed since the app was first released, it’s no surprise to find that football leads the way. Many bets have been made on both West Virginia University and Marshall University – in fact, over 80% of Big 12 bets were on WVU. College football is, according to Raffensperger, more popular with gamblers in WV than most other states with legalized sports betting.

The fact that gamblers can bet on college sports really marks West Virgnia out as different from some other states. This is because many other states have banned betting on college sports. West Virginia is proving that there’s massive demand for betting on college sports though – will other states take note and consider changing their own rules?

Golf was also a massively popular sport with gamblers at The Greenbrier. Bets on golf were inflated over the last month though, as there was huge interest in the “A Tribute to the Military at The Greenbrier“ tournament, which was exceptionally popular. Gamblers attending the tournament in person could even make custom bets near the 17th hole, only increasing the excitement further.

Other sports popular with those in West Virginia over the past month include boxing, baseball and soccer. The NBA and NHL are also expected to create a lot of interest with gamblers in the state when their seasons begin shortly.

DraftKings Also Proving Popular

DraftKings also has a presence in the state of West Virginia, thanks to their partnership with Hollywood Casino. They are also sure to be pleased with their results recently, with Hollywood Casino taking just under $2.9m in bets since the start of the fiscal year.

This makes DraftKings the number one choice in the state of West Virginia, however they need to be careful, as FanDuel is certainly closing the gap. Sports betting is also offered by the Mountaineer Casino, however it doesn’t have a sports betting app, unlike the two big names in the industry.