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Virginia Posts Fourth Straight $500 Million Sports Betting Month

Perry Sandra

Updated as of March 5, 2023 at 12:42 PM EST • Read time: 1 minute and 58 seconds. Find more information on Twitter and Google News.

Jayden Gardner #1 of the Virginia Cavaliers is congratulated by teammates after scoring a basket and drawing a foul against the Illinois Fighting Illini in the first half of the championship game of the Continental Tire Main Event basketball tournament at
Jayden Gardner #1 of the Virginia Cavaliers is congratulated by teammates after scoring a basket and drawing a foul against the Illinois Fighting Illini in the first half of the championship game of the Continental Tire Main Event basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on Nov. 20. Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP

Sports betting in Virginia continues to progress steadily.

The Virginia Lottery revealed impressive numbers on Wednesday, showing that everyone involved with the platform in the state will continue to benefit from one of the most trustworthy gambling jurisdictions in the country.

After two consecutive months of declining handles, January’s figures in Virginia marked a turnaround, following the record-breaking $528,029,938 handle set by the state’s sportsbooks in October.

In January, Virginia’s legal sports betting industry saw its third-best month ever as providers reported strong numbers. The trend is expected to continue with the anticipated release of February’s Super Bowl figures and the upcoming excitement of March Madness.

Virginia enjoys a sensational January

In January, betting sites accumulated a total of $513.2 million in bets over the course of 31 days, which was a 2% increase from December’s $503.1 million. On average, approximately $16.5 million was spent each day at the state’s mobile and retail sportsbooks.

In January 2023, the sports betting handle increased by 5.7% compared to January 2022, reaching a total of $485.5 million in bets.

In the month, 10 out of Virginia’s 16 sportsbooks reported positive net adjusted gross revenues, highlighting the robustness of the state’s legal sports betting industry.

Virginia sportsbooks saw a decrease in revenues from December to January, with providers making $42.1 million compared to $50.7 million the previous month. This decline was attributed to bettors in Virginia winning more in January, resulting in a lower hold rate of 9.7% compared to 10% in December.

Therefore, tax contributions to the state decreased by approximately 10% to slightly below $6.4 million.

Mobile domination continues

It was no surprise that Virginia’s mobile sports betting operators dominated the January sports betting handle, accounting for nearly all of it. However, we did see a glimpse of the contributions from the state’s retail providers for the first time in January. The Virginia Lottery began tracking and separating retail sports betting action during that month.

Ultimately, the retail locations of Hard Rock Casino and Rivers Casino had a minimal impact on the overall January state handle, contributing less than 1%. Despite this, Virginia’s legal sports betting market appeared to be thriving thanks to its strong mobile platform.

Looking ahead

It is highly likely that Virginia sports betting sites, with the guidance of top sportsbooks in the industry, could achieve record-breaking numbers in February or March. Despite being a shorter month, February saw 14 days of Super Bowl betting. March marks the beginning of the highly anticipated March Madness tournament and also coincides with the launch of sports betting in neighboring state, Massachusetts.

Analysts at BetVirginia anticipate that monthly handles in February and March could potentially reach or surpass the $600 million mark. Keep an eye out to see if Virginia hits this milestone in the upcoming months, as the odds are in favor of them achieving it.

Written By:
Perry Sandra
Perry Sandra and betting go hand-in-hand. Both are characterized by “odds”. Dave fancies himself as one of the most dedicated sports and pop-culture junkies around, to the chagrin of his family and friends. Following sports for 50 years and writing about it for 20, Dave hasn’t found a sport yet that can’t contribute to 2-3 straight hours of couch time. That search remains ongoing. As a good old Canadian boy, hockey is in Dave’s heart, as is curling sadly. But evolution is a real thing and that’s why football, baseball, and just about every sport on the planet has become a passion. Dave isn’t afraid to kill some time obsessing over politics or the far-too-frequent awards shows the consume the airwaves.