$3.6M in Sports Wagering Taxes Collected in West Virginia Heading into Super Bowl

February 7, 2023

Mountaineer News

WV Sports Betting

CHARLESTON, WV - West Virginia sportsbooks have paid $3.6 million in taxes so far through January, heading into the largest sports betting event of the year, Super Bowl Sunday.

Taxes are 10% of total taxable receipts from the books, which have made $36 million this fiscal year. $540,723 has gone to administration of sports wagering while the state receives $3 million of those taxes.

The American Gaming Association estimates 50.4 million adults will bet $16 billion on Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, which is 61% higher than a year ago. That includes 30 million American adults placing traditional sports wagers online or at a retail sportsbook while 28 million will bet casually with friends. Legal sports gambling on the Super Bowl rose from $159 million in 2018 to $950 million in 2022. “Every year, the Super Bowl serves to highlight the benefits of legal sports betting: bettors are transitioning to the protections of the regulated market, leagues and sports media are seeing increased engagement, and legal operators are driving needed tax revenue to states across the country,” AGA President and CEO Bill Miller said in a news release.

The largest week of sports gambling tax collections this year in West Virginia was the week of Dec. 17, when $18.1 million was wagered and $3.9 million was collected by the sports books, meaning a $386,215 tax bill.

That week included three Saturday NFL games as most of the college football slate had finished, with the Browns beating the Ravens, and Bills edging the Dolphins in Saturday games along with the Vikings’ comeback win after a 33-0 halftime deficit to the Colts.

For the fiscal year through January, $284.7 million in mobile bets have been placed in West Virginia while $52.9 million in retail bets were placed.

It's estimated at least 3% of American adults have a gambling problem.

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