Share 
According to the Virginia Lottery’s latest report, players in the Old Dominion State wagered $545,068,429 between Feb. 1 and Feb. 29, 2024. The figure represents a 25.6% annual increase.
However, the number is a 16.5% drop from a record $652.9 million total bets reached in VA for January 2024 to remove the restriction on wagering on in-state college and university teams. While passing that bill soon seems too optimistic, the possibility of a restriction removal might have increased betting interest, at least for now.
Current Virginia law forbids sports betting on in-state colleges, so the bill sponsor, Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, argued that people are already betting on Virginia college sports teams. Some residents of the Old Dominion State travel across the borders to bet on games involving in-state teams, while others can opt for illegal, offshore sports betting apps.
Virginia has made only one change to its operations since the launch of sports betting. It enacted a budget provision in 2022 to limit the time operators can deduct the cost of promotional bets to just one year. After the change, Virginia’s sports betting tax revenues increased by more than 60%.
