West Virginia online poker may soon be a reality as the state considers online gaming. And the primary motivation behind doing so is that West Virginia’s casino revenue has been falling due to intense out-of-state competition. Additionally, lottery revenue is dropping because many people pay for gas outside, rather than inside gas stations, where they might buy lottery tickets.
John Musgrave, director of the state Lottery Commission, is the driving force behind the sudden iGaming interest. “We’re still exploring (online gaming) because we feel that’s the way the industry’s moving, so we want to plan for it,” Musgrave told the West Virginia Lottery Commission following a meeting with casino executives. “We have not yet made any decision for how we’re going to implement it, but we are looking at it, studying it and seeing how our casinos in our jurisdiction can move in that direction.”
Another meeting between the Lottery Commission and state casino officials is scheduled for late October. So will this meeting finalize West Virginia’s plans to move forward with iGaming? The answer depends upon just how threatened they feel by competition across state lines, which we’ll discuss below.
Maryland, Ohio and Pennsylvania present problems for casinos
The Mountain State has five casinos, including the Casino Club at Greenbrier, Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, the Mardi Gras Casino and Resort, The Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort, and the Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack – the last four of which also have racetracks.
Not far from Baltimore, Maryland, Hollywood Casino is seeing major competition from Maryland Live! casino. Since Maryland Live! is closer, most Baltimore residents are doing their gaming in-state. The same goes for Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania gamblers, who used to frequent the Mountaineer and Wheeling Island more, until their respective states added casino gaming.
“We’re still seeing a decline (in revenue),” Musgrave said. “We still are experiencing competition as the new casinos are coming on in Maryland and some in Ohio. That hasn’t plateaued.”
New smoking bans don’t help
As if Mountaineer Casino and Hollywood Casinos aren’t dealing with enough problems, they are also facing smoking bans too. Hancock County, where the Mountaineer is located, recently passed an indoor smoking ban. Jefferson County, which is home to Hollywood Casino, is strongly considering a smoking ban as well.
According to the Charleston Daily Mail, Mountaineer officials believe that the bans could hurt revenue by as much as 20 percent. The bans might serve as further motivation for Pennsylvania and Ohio gamblers to stay within their own borders.
Online gaming could be the answer
West Virginia is now in a similar position as New Jersey, where Atlantic City casinos are losing major revenue to out-of-state venues. And while online gaming hasn’t completely saved the East Coast gambling mecca, it is projected to add $55 million in tax revenue in the coming fiscal year.
Of course, West Virginia wouldn’t be on the same scale since they’re nearly five times smaller than New Jersey. But setting up an iGaming market for poker and casino games would certainly help counteract some of the financial pressure that the state’s gaming operation is feeling. Additionally, allowing people to buy lottery tickets through their smartphones and tablets will make the lottery much more convenient.