Five consecutive months of a record-breaking $400 million sports betting handle maintained in Virginia.
Virginia Smashes Sports Betting Record, Joins Elite Club
The Old Dominion crushed it this February with a sports wagering handle of nearly $402 million, marking five consecutive months of $400 million-plus handles.
Virginia isn't just impressing its home crowd — it's now one of the big leaguers, joining seven other states in the $4 billion all-time handle club. This exclusive group includes powerhouses like New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Colorado, and Michigan. Virginia managed to reach this milestone in just 14 months, having launched a digital-only format in late January of 2021.
Despite the Super Bowl bringing in an impressive $33.2 million of the total wagers — a 69.4% increase from the 2021 Super Bowl handle — February's handle took a dip of 17.2% compared to January's record-breaking handle of $485.5 million. This decline is often expected due to the three fewer days of wagering and the Super Bowl serving as the last NFL game of the season.
Top 10 Sports Betting Rivals
- New York - $3.22B
- New Jersey - $2.33B
- Nevada - $1.88B
- Pennsylvania - $1.39B
- Colorado - $1.01B <- A JOINT FORCE
- Michigan - $956.5M <- ON A MISSION
- Indiana - $909.2M <- THE HOOSIER STATE STRIKES BACK
- Virginia - $887.4M <- OLD DOMINION ROCKS
- Illinois - $867.5M
- Tennessee - $699.4M
- April 1, 2022
Big Money, Big Fun
The state's gross gaming revenue came up just shy of $27.5 million, boasting a hold of 6.8%. However, compared to January, this figure took a nearly 30% dive, largely due to a lower win rate for the sportsbooks.
Promotional credits were once again the stars of the show, costing operators a total of $15.8 million in February. Despite a slight decrease from January, this was still the fourth-highest total in the 14 months of wagering. When additional deductions are factored in, Virginia was left with a mere $7.9 million in taxable operator revenue.
The adjusted revenue accounted for just 28.7% of the gross revenue, marking the lowest percentage since February 2021. In the past, flooded promotional offers sent both January and February's adjusted revenue negatives in 2021.
Virginia cashed in more than $1.4 million in tax receipts in February 2022, with four of the 11 operators ending the month in the black. Combined tax revenue for January and February far surpassed last year's pace, although it doesn't provide a direct comparison due to operators not launching until late January 2021.
The Virginia Lottery keeps its handle and revenue dataHosted Secretively, opting not to disclose this information by either sport or operator.
Sports betting in Virginia reached new heights, with a line of $887.4 million in February, placing it among the top sports-betting rivals such as New York, New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Tennessee. This impressive wager on sports set Virginia on a mission to join the exclusive $4 billion all-time handle club.
