Virginia Sports Betting Handle Sets New Record

Article By Bryce Derouin

Last Updated: Mar 14^th, 2024

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Virginia Sports Betting Handle Sets New Record

January was a record-setting sports betting month in Virginia.

The state set a new monthly handle record of $485.5 million, an increase of 13.8% from December’s $426.6 million, eclipsing the previous record of $427.3 million set in October 2021.

Adjusted gross revenue for sports betting was $18.2 million, up 80% from December’s $10.1 million.

Taxes in January for Virginia sports betting was $2.9 million, 66.4% higher than December’s $1.7 million.

Virginia Sports Betting, January vs. December

	Total Handle	Revenue	Taxes
January	$485.544M	$18.221M	$2.877M
December	$426.597M	$10.123M	$1.729M
Change	Up 13.8%	Up 80.0%	Up 66.4%

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In-State Betting on Virginia Teams Still Banned

Two bills attempted to legalize in-state betting on the local colleges did not make it through the legislature, meaning Virginians still won’t be able to legally wager on Virginia or Virginia Tech.

House Bill 1127 was denied in the House General Laws Committee, while last week, Senate Bill 576 didn’t pass through the same committee after it made its way through the Senate.

Those against legalizing betting on local schools feel it’s too soon to discuss the topic after mobile sports betting became legal in Virginia in 2020.

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“It’s kind of a short period of time to be revisiting the issue,” Representative David Bulova said during the meeting. “This is looking out after our Virginia students. This is making sure that we aren’t going ahead and putting our seal of approval on that kind of activity.”

Senator Monty Mason, who introduced SB 576, noted how bets are already being placed on Virginia schools, whether it’s on offshore websites or illegal books. The state also stands to see increased revenue from allowing residents to bet on popular schools such as Virginia and Virginia Tech.

Virginia has a lively sports betting market, with the state taking in more than $3.2 billion in wagers during its first year of taking mobile bets. Sportsbook operators earned more than $130 million in gross revenue during that span, while the state received $19.8 million in sports betting taxes, with $508,000 going towards assisting problem gambling programs.