Virginia sports betting hits $696M, revenue drops
In October, Virginia’s sports betting reached a record $696.1 million, a 21.8% increase compared to $571.4 million in October 2023.
With a 6.6% rise compared to the previous record of $652.9 million set in January, most of the betting, $692.2 million, was done online; retail betting accounted for the other $3.9 million.
Despite record bets, the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) fell to $49 million. That is 13.1% lower than what was recorded in October 2023 and 25.6% below September’s $65.9 million. The AGR was $48.8 million from online betting and $232,925 from retail. Virginia’s overall hold was 7.04%, with online at 7.05% and retail at 5.93%. This was a big drop from September’s 11.5% hold as well as from last October’s 11.2%
The decline in both AGR and hold has to do with the NFL results early in Q4, which favored bettors and slashed margins for the operators. Out of the 13 mobile operators and three licensed casinos, 11 mobile operators and all three casinos reported positive AGR.
Virginia gained $7.3 million in sports betting taxes in November, based on a 15% tax on AGR. The state’s General Fund received 97.5% of the proceeds, while the remainder was allocated to the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund.