Virginia’s legal sports betting saw its lowest betting handle since August 2022 and if history is any indicator... July and August will be worse. Sportsbooks however made the most of their bets with a strong winning percentage.
The Virginia Lottery reported that their online and retail and online sports betting sites took in $322 million in wagers in June, a 20.2% monthly decline. That being said, year-over-year action improved by 10%.
From the $322 million, Virginia sports betting operators paid $292.7 million in winnings, a 10% hold. Even though June’s hold was less than May’s 11.9% it was still in line with Virginia’s impressive win percentage in 2023. June is the fourth month with a hold above 10% and every month saw a hold higher than 9%.
After deductions, the state sportsbooks had $26.4 million in adjusted gross revenue, and the commonwealth turned that into $3.9 million in taxes.
bet365 aggressive in Virginia
Virginia only allows sportsbooks to deduct their promotional offers in their first year of operation. That means the large companies, like FanDuel and DraftKings, are past the deadline. But the smaller operators can use this rule to make an impact.
Of the five sportsbooks still eligible to deduct, bet365 blew the competition out of the water. From January to May, bet365 made up 92.4% of the commonwealth’s total promotional deductions. Hard Rock Bet was a distant second with 3.8%.
But the Virginia betting space is competitive. Despite all the money, bet365 grabbed just 3.6% of the market share, which is the 5th highest. Of the 15 live sportsbooks in Virginia and FanDuel controlled 41.5% of the total market with DraftKings at 26.4%. BetMGM came in third at 13.4% and Caesars at 6.3%.
