Charles Town Races has overtaken the Greenbrier for the online casino market lead in West Virginia. The bulk of Charles Town’s revenue can be assumed to come from DraftKings. The only other brand on the license is PointsBet, typically a bit player. That switch comes amidst what was otherwise a slow month of April for US online casinos.
Across the six legal states, regulated online casinos generated $532 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR) in April. That makes for 20.9% year-over-year growth but a slowdown compared to March. Annual growth in March had been 27.1%, and the industry’s performance in April was 2.1% below our projection.
Summer is a slow season for online casinos due to less crossover from sports betting and more competition with outdoor recreational activities. However, the sharpest drop often doesn’t come until May. We may simply be seeing an earlier-than-usual start to summer trends than poor performance from the industry.
Connecticut continues to beat the Bonus forecast by a comfortable margin and may soon outpace West Virginia to become the fastest-growing state.
New Jersey was the only other state to do better than expected in April and still has the highest iGaming revenue per capita.
A New Leader in West Virginia
West Virginia online casinos made over $13 million in April. Although daily average revenue has fallen 5.6% since March, the annual growth rate of 51.6% is still the highest of any state.
The Greenbrier, owned by the family of Gov. Jim Justice, is West Virginia’s only casino not attached to a racetrack. Through its partnership with FanDuel and BetMGM, its online casino license has been the highest-grossing in the state for most of the market’s history.
However, it has struggled for the past two months. Daily average GGR for the Greenbrier has dropped 21% to $183,723 from an all-time high of $231,539 in February. Over the same period, Charles Town has increased its daily average by 6% to $188,437.
DraftKings’ Dominance
Charles Town may not remain in first as a license-holder. A drop as sharp as Greenbrier has experienced often foretells a rebound.
However, the mere fact that the two are close suggests that DraftKings Casino holds a disproportionate market share in the Mountain State.
BetMGM, FanDuel and DraftKings are well-established as the top three online gambling operators in the US. PointsBet is much smaller, implying that in West Virginia, DraftKings is almost as big as BetMGM and FanDuel combined.
Michigan provides a convenient benchmark because there is only one operator per license. That means we can see individual brands’ market share, unlike in other states.
In Michigan:
- BetMGM (32.1%) + FanDuel (19.6%) = 51.7% combined market share
- DraftKings (17.6%) + PointsBet (0.9%) = 18.5% combined market share
In West Virginia:
- BetMGM + FanDuel = 42.3% combined market share
- DraftKings + PointsBet = 43.4% combined market share
It stands to reason that in a small market like West Virginia, PointsBet would contribute more than the 0.9% it does in Michigan. However, Charles Town’s revenue did not jump when PointsBet launched its casino in January 2022. In fact, it dropped for several months afterward. So, we have to assume that DraftKings accounts for most of that 43.4%.
Online Gambling Revenue Highlights – April 2023
Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania online gambling sites won $167.3 million in April, up 21.2% year-over-year. That’s the slowest growth rate since July 2022.
- The daily average revenue was $5.6 million, a monthly drop of 4.8%.
- Pennsylvania’s year-to-date total is now $688.1 million, 2.4% lower than the Bonus forecast.
- Valley Forge (FanDuel and Stardust) was the only license to see daily average revenue increase, though only by 0.6%.
Michigan
- Michigan online gambling sites won $159.4 million in April 2023, up 20.3% year-over-year. That’s the lowest annual growth rate in state history.
- The daily average revenue was $5.3 million, a monthly drop of 4.2%.
- Michigan’s year-to-date total is $633.1 million, 2.8% lower than the Bonus forecast.
- Caesars increased its market share from 4.2% to 5.5%, and WynnBet went from 2.8% to 3.6%.
New Jersey
- New Jersey online gambling sites produced $156.6 million in April 2023, up 16.1% year-over-year. That’s in line with expectations.
- The daily average revenue was $5.3 million, a monthly drop of just 0.9%.
- New Jersey’s year-to-date total is $620 million, 2.3% below the Bonus forecast.
- Borgata increased its daily average GGR by 1.6% to reclaim the top spot from Resorts, which had overtaken it in March.
- The Hard Rock and Tropicana licenses took a beating in April, down 13.6% and 10.9%, respectively.
Connecticut
- Connecticut online casinos produced $31.8 million in April 2023, up 40% year-over-year. That’s down from 53% in March, yet still the highest of any state save West Virginia.
- The daily average revenue was $1.1 million, a monthly drop of 4.9%.
- Connecticut’s year-to-date total is $126 million, 5.0% higher than our forecast. At this point, it is the only state beating the projection.
- DraftKings’ market share is back up to 57.3% despite much lower promotional spending in 2023.
Delaware
- Delaware’s lottery monopoly produced $1.3 million from online casino games in April 2023, up 5.9% year-over-year.
- The daily average was $43,123, a monthly drop of 6.3%.
- Delaware’s year-to-date total is just over $5 million, 9.1% below the Bonus forecast.
US Online Gambling Revenue Summary Table
| State | GGR - March 2023 | Monthly Change | Annual Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | $167,267,760 | -4.8% | +21.2% |
| Michigan | $159,369,429 | -4.2% | +20.3% |
| New Jersey | $158,936,991 | -0.9% | +16.1% |
| Connecticut | $31,814,095 | -4.9% | +39.8% |
| West Virginia | $13,031,086 | -5.6% | +51.6% |
| Delaware | $1,293,705 | -6.3% | +5.9% |
| US Total | $531,713,066 | -3.5% | +20.9% |
- Raw data for this article comes from reports issued by the state regulators: the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, Michigan Gaming Control Board, West Virginia Lottery, Delaware Lottery, and the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection.
- Monthly growth figures are adjusted for the number of days in the month. That is, they represent the change in daily average revenue, not full-month gross revenue.
- West Virginia reports revenue weekly, not monthly. Its monthly totals are an estimate, assuming that revenue for partial weeks is distributed evenly between the seven days.
- Pennsylvania only reports adjusted revenue (gross revenue, less promotional spending). Bonus calculates gross slots revenue by subtracting payouts from coin in, but no such data is available for table games and poker. Therefore, actual gross revenue is probably somewhat higher than what we report.
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