Center for Gaming Research
UNLV
West Virginia Gaming Summary

Background

West Virginia has a lottery, racetrack casinos, a resort casino, and video lottery terminals at bars, restaurants, and fratnernal organizations.

 

Casinos

In 1995, video lottery terminal wagering at West Virginia racetracks began. In 2008, racetrack casinos also began offering table games, including blackjack, craps, and roulette.

The state currently has four racetrack casinos: Mountaineer Racetrack and Gaming Resort; Charles Town Races and Slots; Wheeling Island Racetrack and Gaming Center; and the Tri-State Racetrack and Gaming Center. It's sole resort casino is The Greenbrier.

The tax rate on gaming revenues is currently 35 to 49% of adjusted gross gaming revenue.

 

Lottery

Development: In 1984, voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing a state lottery. the first tickets were sold in 1986.

Beneficiaries: Lottery profits were initially transferred to the state's General Fund. In 1989, lawmakers dedicated lottery profits to programs benefiting education, senior citizens, and tourism. Millions of dollars have since been provided for elementary, secondary, and higher education, including PROMISE scholarships. Matching funds for Medicaid as well as the costs of in home health care and senior support services are also funded from lottery revenue. In addition, lottery funds support the state's toll-free tourist information number and the cooperative tourism advertising grants. 

For more information see the West Virginia Lottery website.
Casino data (fiscal year)

Gaming Revenues

Year
Slots 
Table
AGR
1995
28,126,979
n/a
28,126,979
1996
47,226,725
n/a
47,226,725
1997
82,336,810
n/a
82,336,810
1998
131,353,601
n/a
131,353,601
1999
190,559,920
n/a
190,559,920
2000
283,185,694
n/a
283,185,694
2001
438,090,521
n/a
438,090,521
2002
595,946,640
n/a
595,946,640
2003
717,079,486
n/a
717,079,486
2004
854,858,062
n/a
854,858,062
2005
894,530,565
n/a
894,530,565
2006
942,250,631
n/a
942,250,631
2007
972,591,775
n/a
972,591,775
2008
897,952,931
45,363,680
943,316,611
2009
848,232,669
97,768,860
946,001,529
2010
746,208,159
90,644,701
836,852,860
2011
733,184,000
68,154,000
801,338,000
2012
843,019,000
78,121,000
921,140,000

2013

655,676,762

70,259,000

655,676,762

2014

590,918,374

50,464,934

590,918,374

2015

557,802,211

46,928,173

557,802,211

2016

537,729,110

43,545,330

537,729,110

2017

521,317,604

38,957,889

521,317,604

Powered by GamblingCompliance.com. For current information, visit GamblingData.com.

 
Lottery data (fiscal year)

 

Year
Total Revenues
Prize Liabilities
Prize %
1991
78,714,809
40,578,904
51.55%
1992
89,518,513
46,484,722
51.93%
1993
114,914,803
61,875,669
53.84%
1994
136,703,789
75,659,771
55.35%
1995
152,723,240
84,999,297
55.66%
1996
163,042,332
93,689,139
57.46%
1997
162,782,552
92,796,572
57.01%
1998
173,750,903
98,023,371
56.42%
1999
202,056,044
113,294,606
56.07%
2000
164,780,789
94,935,060
57.61%
2001
158,801,246
93,128,321
58.64%
2002
206,903,338
120,180,048
58.09%
2003
192,086,434
114,651,424
59.69%
2004
206,868,043
123,263,630
59.59%
2005
194,214,640
117,125,999
60.31%
2006
218,082,375
131,903,210
60.48%
2007
192,650,269
115,792,130
60.10%
2008
198,038,073
121,169,284
61.18%
2009
198,095,049
119,449,497
60.30%
2010
181,224,151
107,983,663
59.59%
2011
193,567,315
120,706,835
62.36%
2012
201,289,000
120,606,000
59.92%
2013
195,621,000
116,230,000
59.42%
2014 188,631,000 117,610,000 62.35%
2015 180,000,000 106,476,000 59.15%
2016 188,220,200 110,827,000 58.88%

Powered by GamblingCompliance.com. For current information, visit GamblingData.com.

 

Total revenue is total ticket sales sales plus interest earned on the lottery fund balance and miscellaneous revenue sources . Prize liability is the total amount of prize money paid back to winners. Prize percentages are taken from the total revenues.
West Virginia Gaming Timeline

1984: Lottery is created when voters approve a constitutional amendment

1986: First lottery tickets sold

1988: West Virginia becomes charter member of the Multi State Lottery Association's "Lotto America" game, the forerunner of today's "Powerball"

1994: West Virginia legislature approve VLTs at racetracks

1995: Video lottery terminal gambling at racetracks begins

2001: VLTs in commercial locations and fraternal organizations authorized

2007: Table games at racinos approved for Hancock, Ohio, and Kanawha Counties

2007: Table games were added at Wheeling Island Hotel Casino Racetrack and Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort

2008: TriState Racing and Gaming Center allows table games

2008: Casino operations at The Greenbrier resort approved.

 

 

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Last modified Tuesday, 06-Dec-2022 10:30:34 PST