Gambling On Sports In Virginia Is Up 7.9% Since Last Year

The Virginia Lottery revealed the latest figures for February 2023. According to the report, Virginia sportsbook operators generated $433.81 million in betting handle in February.

The figure is a 15.5% monthly drop from Virginia’s January gaming revenue of $513 million. However, it is a 7.9% year-over-year increase from February 2022’s $401.89 million.

Players’ betting activity in February also includes $32.3 million in bets on Super Bowl LVII.

Virginia players won a total of $394.0 for a combined 9.17%-win percentage.

Virginia sportsbooks generate $39.8M in gross revenue

From those $433.8 million, gross winnings totaled $394 million, and operators made $39.8 million in gross revenue. The figure compares to the $27.5 million generated in February 2022.

In other words, Virginia sportsbooks’ gross revenue increased by almost 31% year-over-year. The state was eligible to tax $28.4 million in adjusted revenue. In February last year, that figure was significantly smaller ($7.88 million).

Nine sports betting operators in Virginia contributed $4.7M in tax revenue

The Virginia Lottery does not reveal operators’ revenue and handle figures in its monthly reports. However, the report shows that nine VA operators reported net positive AGR and were eligible to pay a 15% tax rate. Throughout February, the state generated $4.7 million in tax payments.

Gaming law specifies 97.5% of the tax revenue goes toward the state’s general fund. And 2.5% goes into the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund under the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Development Services.

Online sports betting apps alone handled $430.25 million. That’s an almost 16% decrease from January’s $510.98 million. However, the figure is 7% higher than February 2022’s $401.89 million.

Retail sportsbooks handled $3.55 million in bets for February.

Super Bowl betting dropped from last year

Super Bowl counted for 7.4% of February’s betting action, totaling a $32.3 million handle. At the same time last year, Virginians gambled $33.157 million on the big game.

This year’s figure is a 2.58% drop from last year.