Virginia Betting Handle Sees 7.4% Increase In August, Totaling $315.6 Million

Virginia saw an excellent sports betting handle in the month of August with $315.6 million in total wagers placed, although revenue overall fell throughout the month. Mobile sports betting was the top focus for bettors in the Old Dominion State, although retail sports betting could grow in the future.

The state of Kentucky, meanwhile, just launched online betting just in time for Week 4 of the NFL season.

Virginia Bettors Wager $315.6 Million Throughout August

August was a strong month for Virginia sportsbooks, with $315.6 million total wagered as sports fans prepared for the pro football season. This signals some momentum heading into September, with August seeing a 7.4% increase in handle from the previous month.

Plus, it represents a 12.1% jump from August of 2022. When the September sports betting handle is released, big numbers should be expected with the NFL season kicking off. For reference, September of 2022 saw a total sports betting handle of $411.2 million.

While the handle numbers were positive, the same can’t be said for sports betting revenue in August, which totaled $27.9 million. This was a 1.1% drop from July’s $28.2 million revenue totals. Bettors won big throughout the month, winning approximately $25.5 million more than the previous month.

Vast Majority Of Bettors Placed Wagers Online

Online betting dominated the Virginia spots betting numbers, which has been the case since the initial rollout of betting in the state. Mobile sportsbooks overall saw 98.95% of the online betting handle in August.

This makes sense, as while there is one retail sportsbook located in the state (Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol), there are 14 online betting apps to choose from. Online betting sites also dominated when it came to revenue, accounting for 98.53% of the total number.

However, retail sportsbooks in the state could see bigger numbers in the future. Other casinos in the state such as Rivers Casino Portsmouth and Rosie’s Gaming Emporium in Richmond could open up their own brick-and-mortar sportsbooks.

Nearby Kentucky Enjoys First NFL Weekend With Online Betting

Virginia is located by numerous states that have legal sports betting, such as Tennessee, West Virginia, and Maryland. Kentucky also fully launched its sports betting industry throughout the month of September. The Bluegrass State began opening retail sportsbooks on September 7, 2023, with mobile sports betting launching on September 28, 2023.

This means that Kentucky has had access to legal betting options throughout the 2023 NFL regular season. Mobile sports betting apps have been available for the entirety of NFL Week 4, and those online sportsbooks should collect a significant handle.

While the full numbers haven’t been released yet, TheLines reported that 200,000 unique accounts were created in just the first 24 hours of mobile betting in the state of Kentucky.

This comes after Governor Andy Beshear revealed 60,000 online sports betting accounts being created before the official launch of the state’s mobile wagering industry. Retail sportsbooks also got off to a strong start, with a $4.5 million handle in just the first two weeks of operation.