West Virginia limited video lottery machines scored record revenue for the first few days of resumed operations. Keeping the same pace, the LVL machines may raise $45 million in June.
Limited Video Lottery Machines Score Record Revenue since Reopening
West Virginia’s casinos, sports betting and limited video lottery machines were shut down back in mid-March. Following the on order by Governor Jim Justice the shutdown was lifted earlier this month. With the industry restarted not even month ago, the LVL machines in the state are scoring record revenues. Some machines located in West Virginia have shown triple revenue on a daily basis. During its Wednesday meeting, the state Lottery Commission was notified by the State Lottery Director John Myers about the spike in revenue. According to Myers, numbers showed revenue of average $1.5 million on a daily basis generated by more than 7,000 LVL machines in the state. With that being said, it’s important to mention that the usual revenue from those machines is around $500,000 for a day.
According to director Myers, the LVL machines set a record on the day when the industry was restarted. Myers continued by saying: “The Saturday, May 30th, when we reopened was the highest Saturday that we recorded since we started keeping records on that since a Saturday in July 2008.“
State Gambling Revenue Drops, Will the Lottery Machines Pick It Up?
Records show that for May 30 and May 31 LVL machines in the state raised $3.3 million in revenue. Myers outlined that despite casinos reopening on June 5, they haven’t shown such revenue increase compared to LVL machines. He also pointed out that the operators who now welcome guests are following health and safety requirements introduced due to COVID-19. Those health and safety measures are similar to other states’, where operators reopened or plan to reopen doors in the post-COVID-19 environment.
Focusing on monthly revenue numbers in May, those dropped down to $28.5 million. Most of the revenue was raised by traditional lottery such as online tickets and scratch off cards. With that being said, year-on-year comparison shows a staggering 71% drop as records from May 2019 show some $99,9 million in gambling revenue. Keeping in mind the big hit that the gambling industry sustained in the last few months due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the revenue raised by LVL machine looks promising. If the revenue keeps the same pace, June revenue may end with 50% increase which is some $45 million.
Online Gaming in West Virginia One Step Closer
Inline gaming in West Virginia may be a fact for as early as July. The Legislature in the state legalized online betting back in 2019. Wednesday’s meeting saw an update on rules for control over online gaming as well as additional methods of control. In other words, online betting may be launched in July.
Lottery director Myers commented on the subject by saying: “We may see iGaming by the end of July, based on the progress these folks are making.” Once online betting is launched, punters will be able to place bets on video slots games as well as virtual casinos from their smartphones or other mobile devices.