Wagering on live races at the state's four thoroughbred and greyhound racetracks continued to decline in the 2015-16 fiscal year, which ended June 30, Racing Commission Executive Director Joe Morris said.
Live wagering fell 8 percent during the budget year, but wagering at the four racetrack casinos and the casino at The Greenbrier on simulcast broadcasts of races in other states dropped less than 1 percent.
The Racing Commission is funded primarily through the state's pari-mutual tax on wagering, which stands to drop about $140,000 from the $1.76 million collected in calendar year 2015.
"As a special revenue agency with our revenues dwindling, we continue our efforts with cost-savings functions within the Racing Commission," Morris said.
For the budget year, wagering on live races at the four tracks totaled $24.06 million, down $2.09 million from fiscal 2014-15.
The thoroughbred tracks saw the largest declines on live wagering, with Charles Town Races down 10 percent at $7.95 million, and Mountaineer racetrack at $1.9 million, down 29 percent from 2014-15.
Among greyhound tracks, Wheeling Island racetrack was down 2.3 percent at $10.55 million, and Mardi Gras racetrack was down 3 percent to $3.6 million.
However, wagering at the racetrack casinos on simulcast broadcasts of races from other racetracks around the country was largely unchanged at $42.56, down about $172,000 from 2014-15.
The racetracks receive a commission on wagering on simulcast races, with a comparatively small amount of the wagers going toward purse funds.
The largest amount of wagering is on state races simulcast to racetracks, casino and off-track betting facilities in other states, totaling $349.47 million, but the state tracks receive a comparatively nominal amount of those wagers though transmission fees.
The export waging saw the sharpest percentage decline in the budget year, falling 17 percent from 2014-15, Morris said.
Total in-state wagering handle for 2015-16 was $66.63 million, down 3.3 percent or $2.56 million from 2014-15.
Meanwhile, the state's pari-mutual taxes on racing has dropped from $1.87 million in 2014 and $1.92 million in 2013, and is well off the peak year of 1986, which brought in $14.9 million in revenue for the state.
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