Virginia Sports Betting Revenue And Handle

The experts at BetVirginia.com have assembled this guide to explain what we mean when we talk about revenue and sportsbook handle for Virginia sports betting that the state reports each month.

There is an active market with many online or mobile operators as well as a growing number of retail sports wagering options at brick-and-mortar casinos in the commonwealth.

The handle is simply the total dollars wagered on sports in the state each month. In Virginia, bettors wager hundreds of million of dollars each month. From the time legal sports betting launched in January 2021 to early 2023, legal, regulated sports bets were placed exclusively with online sportsbooks. Since then, physical casinos have begun taking retail wagers on sports, albeit in much smaller numbers.

The revenue refers to the amount that operators have left after they pay out winning bets. From there, bookmakers pay 15% tax to the state on the adjusted gross revenue. Those operators often offer Virginia sportsbook promo codes to their customers.

Virginia Sports Betting, May vs. April

Virginia Sports Betting Handle and Revenue: May 2024

The late-spring sports betting slump bit Virginia sportsbooks in a big way in May, with the Commonwealth reporting a double-digit percentage drop in wagering totals compared to the previous month.

Overall, Virginia sportsbooks took in a total handle of $505,594,450 in May, down 10.6% from April’s total of $563,495,540 in a month-over-month comparison. The May total was a 24.7% increase from May 2023’s sum of $403,719,160 in total sports wagers, according to the Virginia Department of Revenue.

As for revenue, Virginia sportsbooks experienced a smaller slide in May, dropping 1.3% month-over-month from $54,629,226 to $53,932,694, but again that was a major gain from one year before – a 26.8% increase compared to May 2023 ($42,547,380).

That smaller drop in revenue meant that the Commonwealth’s tax bill dropped 1.5% month-over-month, from $8,210,372 in April to $8,087,375 in May, while gaining 28.7% year-over-year from the $6,285,305 from 12 months earlier.

Through five months of the year, Virginia sportsbooks have taken in $2,885,885,350 in total handle, to go with $261,490,417 in revenue and $38,651,463 in tax money, Virginia Lottery figures indicate.

Virginia Mobile Sports Betting History