CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginians have responded in a big way to the FanDuel Sportsbook betting app launched last month. That according to Mike Raffensperger, the Chief Marketing Officer with FanDuel.
Raffensperger spoke with MetroNews on Thursday about what his company has seen since the August 26 app launch through The Greenbrier for sports fans across the entire state to use.
“There’s probably no better time a year to launch then around the start of September and the kick-off to football,” he said.
“I think West Virginians have responded admirably as admirable sports fans do. They have brought a lot of activity both in NFL play and college football.”
According to the latest West Virginia Lottery numbers under mobile taxable receipts, The Greenbrier has brought in $96,849.08 since the FanDuel app launched. A total number of app users in West Virginia could not be provided by FanDuel.
Raffensperger told MetroNews that plenty of wagers have came in on West Virginia University and Marshall University football. He said around 80-percent of Big 12 football bets in the state are just on WVU.
“I think what we have seen is colleges popularities over-indexing in West Virginia in relation to NFL what we have seen in other markets,” Raffensperger said.
According to him, football has been the most popular in West Virginia to bet on through the app followed by baseball, tennis, soccer, and boxing in that order.
Golf has also been popular on app and Raffensperger said they saw a lot of activity at The Greenbrier during the PGA Tour’s “A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier” last week.
Custom markets were created outside of hole 17 for attendees to bet on golf in person.
“We had a bet that could place on every round of golfers that would come up, who would be closest to the pin,” Raffensperger said.
“When you’re watching on television, it could be a little hard to fully understand and watch golf through the broadcast. But it’s a great way to experience golf live.”
DraftKings Sportsbook app launched shortly after FanDuel but through Hollywood Casino in Charles Town.
According to the latest West Virginia Lottery numbers under mobile taxable receipts, Hollywood Casino has brought in $203,638.37 since the app launched. More than $170,000 in the week of August 31 to September 7.
DraftKings officials could not be reached for comment.
Total taxable receipts at The Greenbrier for sports betting, retail and mobile, since the new fiscal year started on July 1 is $294,848.58. For Hollywood Casino, the total is $2,899,607.97.
The Mountaineer Casino in Hancock County also offers sports betting but does not have a mobile app. The total taken in since July 1 is $711,449.64.