Virginia’s sports betting market continues to grow. But handle doesn’t mean much to an operator if your revenue dips, which was the case in November.
The Virginia Lottery announced that both their retail and online sportsbooks combined for $638.8 million in wagers, an 11.8% increase from October’s $571.3 million. Year over year the commonwealth saw their sports betting action jump by 23%.
Both the online operators and the retail locations enjoyed the boost in wagers, although the retail sportsbooks saw a nearly 16% boost (mobile operators saw an 11.8% increase). Despite the larger monthly improvement, mobile wagers dominate the market with $632.2 million of the $638.8 million coming online.
After an 11.2% hold in October that netted Virginia’s sportsbooks over $56 million in adjusted revenue, November was a different story. Sportsbooks held just 6.7% meaning that revenue fell, significantly to $36.3 million. The tax bill dropped from $8.5 million to $5.4 million.
More bettors on the exclusion list
As Virginia’s sports betting market increases, so too does the number of reported problem gamblers.
From January to September of 2023, 362 Virginians entered the commonwealth’s voluntary exclusion program, which prevents them from betting during a predetermined period (2 years, 5 years, or lifetime). This is a 17.5% jump compared to the 308 new enrollees in 2022. In total 841 Virginians signed up (41 are now inactive since their exclusion period ended).
Some details provided by the Virginia Lottery are interesting. Over 400 of those enrollees opted for the five-year ban, and over 300 picked the two year option. When it comes to the age breakdown there are more enrollees in the 31-40 bracket than there are those older than 40.
