The Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort located in Hancock County launched sports betting operations on Wednesday, making it the third operational sportsbook in West Virginia.
The sportsbook at the venue is managed by William Hill and accepts wagers on professional and collegiate sporting events.
In an interview with local West Virginian news station, MetroNews, Mountaineer Vice President and General Manager Bill Winkelried said: “We got the jump on everyone in this area. The closest one [other sportsbooks] to us is Charles Town at this point.”
This is the second William Hill sportsbook to operate in West Virginia.
The other William Hill sportsbook is located at the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races and launched operations in August.
The FanDuel Sportsbook at the Casino Club at The Greenbrier also launched sports betting operations earlier this year.
The Mardi Gras Casino & Resort Cross Lanes and the Wheeling Island Hotel, Casino & Racetrack are the only two venues in West Virginia that have yet to launch sports betting operations.
According to local news reports Wheeling Island is waiting to complete the development of its sports betting app before officially launching sports betting operations.
The use of an app will allow residents and visitors in the state to place wagers on sports without being present in the casino.
As it stands none of the other sportsbooks have sports betting apps, putting the Wheeling Island venue at a considerable advantage giving it the widest reach in the state.
Winkelried went on to say that sports betting itself may not add a whole lot to the casino revenue but it will help bring more people to the venue.
Winkelried added: “That’s more people in to sit at the tables, sit at the slots, go to the restaurant and have a couple drinks at the bar. That’s where the big increase is going to be seen.”
During the state’s first month of legal sports betting roughly $10m was wagered on sports and the two sportsbooks in the state saw a combined revenue of over $2.5m.
