Virginia Sports Betting Handle Passes $50m in Just 11 Days
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Virginia sports betting absolutely crushed the first two weeks of betting in the state. According to numbers acquired by the Richmond Examiner, the total sports handle for the first 11 days of online sports betting service was $58.89 million. This is across the four operators of DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and BetRivers, which all launched in late January and early February.
This is a crazy number to see in just 11 days of sports betting. At that rate, over the course of the very first 30 days, Virginia could see over $150 million wagered. This would be one of the best first months in sports betting history, as we continue to see records broken seemingly with every new state that legalizes.
What About the Revenue?
It was reported that players brought home $55.31 million of that $58.89 million wagered, which means that sportsbooks saw a little over $3.5 million in revenue, quite a large number for the amount wagered in the first 11 days. This would be another record pace for a state in its first month of online sports betting as Virginia would be on track for $10.5 million in revenue for the sportsbooks.
The State only saw a little over $39,000 of this money. This is because the tax rate is on gross revenue, and the sportsbooks offered quite a bit of promotional value for new users within the state. Meaning that the actual profit and revenue being taken in was not as high as it would seem at first glance.
What Caused Such a High Wager Total?
Virginia was smart to plan the launch of sports betting around the Super Bowl. This is what caused a large number of wagers for the calendar month of January and the first 11 days of sports betting for the state. The Super Bowl is the biggest American sporting event and arguably the largest betting event in the entire world.
It is no surprise to see that Virginians took full advantage of being able to wager on the Big Game between the Buccaneers and the Chiefs.
How is Febuary Looking?
February will be able to take some of those Super Bowl bets for itself as the game was played on February 7th, not to mention that more sportsbooks went live like William Hill. However, February is a bit of a dry month following the Super Bowl. Only the NBA and NHL are playing games. This means that the sports wagering might see a big drop off from the initial pace Virginia saw with its launch.
However, one thing that will surely get bigger is the gross revenue, as sportsbooks finish up those initial welcome offers and bettors have fewer promotions to take advantage of. The gross revenue should skyrocket over the coming months. This is good news for Virginia because better gross revenue means more tax revenue for the State.
Virginia is looking to compete with New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Michigan for top dog in sports betting. However, only time will tell if the state can crack the top four for sports betting handle over the course of the next 12 months.
