There was a substantial jump in Virginia sports betting handle for September, which was in line with other sports gambling jurisdictions with NFL and college football seasons starting.
Virginia bettors wagered nearly $294 million in September, an increase of about 61% from August ($182.4 million).
Nine licensed operators were included in September’s sports gambling financial report from the commonwealth, with the latest operator being Golden Nugget Online Gaming. Golden Nugget Online Gaming was the most-recent sportsbook to launch, going live in Virginia at the end of September.
VA Sports Betting, September vs. August
| Total Handle | Revenue | Taxes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| September | $293.852M | $10.334M | $1.557M |
| August | $182.418M | $8.688M | $1.378M |
| Change | Up 61.1% | Up 18.9% | Up 13.0% |
Here are three key takeaways from the September VA gambling report:
Revenue Doesn’t Keep Pace
Despite a significant increase in handle, Virginia sports operators, in the aggregate, did not see a corresponding jump in adjusted gross revenue. The AGR for September was a little more than $10.33 million, which was an increase of about 18.9% from August ($8.69 million) and actually more than $2 million lower than July’s AGR of $12.7 million, according to the state lottery release. Sportsbooks saw a combined 10.53% hold.
Bonuses & Promos for Bettors
Virginia sports bettors enjoyed a bonanza in bonuses and promotions in September. The giveaways amounted to a robust $17.42 million, more than doubling the $6.87 million reported in August.
Virginia’s sports gambling statute allows operators to deduct certain customer acquisition costs, so while the big bonuses and promotions were to the advantage of gambling customers, they adversely impact AGR which, in turn, affects tax collections.
Tax Collector Had Better Month
The August tax collected by the commonwealth was almost $1.56 million, an increase of about 18% from August’s approximate $1.38 million, but lower than July’s $1.86 million. The commonwealth reported that four operators reported net positive AGR for September.
More help is on the way. The Virginia Lottery expects Bally Bet to launch in the state in mid-November with five more sportsbooks expected to receive Virginia sports betting permits in the coming months. The Bally’s Corp. permit was approved by the lottery on March 15.
