Newly Released Economic Study Finds W.Va. Dog Racing "Does Not Pay for Itself"

Study finds that "maintaining greyhound racing is unlikely to produce broad-based or sustainable economic gains" for Mountain State

CHARLESTON, W.Va., Feb. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A landmark economic study by the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) at Ball State University, and commissioned by Greyhound Protection Group (GREY2K USA), finds that greyhound racing in West Virginia provides "limited" economic benefit to the state and local communities.

Specific findings of the study include:

• West Virginia's existing greyhound subsidy program "does not pay for itself in either economic output or tax revenue," and the subsidies simply "keep the industry afloat rather than generate a net positive return for the state."
• Greyhound racing in West Virginia provides "limited economic benefit, primarily sustaining a narrow set of low-wage jobs without producing long-term employment, income, or GDP gains."
• The continuation of greyhound in West Virginia racing is "unlikely to produce broad-based or sustainable economic gains."
• The entire economic effect of greyhound racing comes from a "transfer of state tax dollars, from other forms of gaming, to the operators of greyhound racing."
• A "substantial share" of winnings is paid to owners who reside outside West Virginia, resulting in "economic leakage" and reducing the benefits of greyhound subsidies.

Overall, the economic study found that there is "no net fiscal benefit of greyhound racing" to West Virginia.

"This if the first economic study of dog racing in West Virginia in more than a decade, and the results confirm what many have long said – that greyhound racing doesn't pay for itself," said GREY2K USA President and General Counsel Christine Dorchak. "At the end of the day, the state's existing greyhound subsidy scheme only enriches a handful of breeders at the expense of other vital state programs."

The analysis, completed in February 2026, is conducted by Michael J. Hicks, PhD, and Dagney Faulk, PhD. Hicks is the Director of the Center for Business and Economic Research and a G&F Ball Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Miller College of Business, Ball State University. Faulk is the Director of Research at the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University. Greyhound protection group GREY2K USA commissioned their independent analysis.

To estimate the effect of greyhound racing on local employment, the authors employed a difference-in-differences (DiD) research framework that compares the changes in employment over time in jurisdictions that host greyhound racing to otherwise similar jurisdictions that do not, examining the period before and after the presence of greyhound racing. The analysis was conducted using 55 cross-sectional units observed over 54 years.

Greyhound racing is illegal in 44 states and only continues to exist at two tracks in West Virginia. Bi-partisan legislation to prohibit dog racing nationwide is currently pending in the U.S. Congress and seven states have further outlawed remote gambling on greyhound racing since 2022. 

"The rest of the nation has sent a clear message to West Virginia that it has moved on from the cruel, inhumane and outdated practice of dog racing," Dorchak said. "This latest economic analysis confirms that West Virginia experiences little economic benefit for the nearly $20 million in tax revenue it spends annually to continue propping up a dying industry."

The analysis can be found online at projects.cberdata.org/203/greyhound.

About GREY2K USA Worldwide

Formed in February of 2001, GREY2K USA is the largest greyhound protection organization in the United States with more than 300,000 supporters. As a non-profit 501(c)4 organization, the group works to pass stronger greyhound protection laws and end the cruelty of dog racing on both national and international levels. GREY2K USA also promotes the rescue and adoption of greyhounds across the globe. For more information, go to www.GREY2KUSA.org or visit GREY2K USA on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Contact: Carey Theil, 617.501.6276, [email protected]

SOURCE GREY2K USA