Sports wagering in Virginia saw a monumental high of $639 million in November, shattering previous records.
Hear Ye, Hear Ye!
Virginia's sports wagering is on fire, breaking records not once, but twice in a row! November saw a whopping $638.8 million handle, a 11.8% increase from October's $571.4 million, and a impressive 23.1% boost compared to the previous year. This haul made Virginia the ninth state to hit the $600 million monthly handle mark in the post-PASPA era.
Despite the boom in action, operators were left clutching their third-worst hold in 35 months of legal wagering. With a hold of just 6.7%, they coughed up just over $43 million in gross revenue – a 25.3% drop from last November. But don't feel too sorry for them, as all but $472,577 of that came from mobile betting apps – the rest of us were using our desktops, I guess.
The state itself managed to levy taxes on $36.4 million in adjusted gross revenue, raking in $5.5 million. Ten operators ended November in the black, contributing to the state's total sports wagering tax of $63.8 million in 2023, a splendid $19.1 million ahead of last year's total as we head towards the end of the year.
Now, let's talk about ESPN BET. They're coy about their figures, but a spokesperson spilled the beans that ESPN BET is not authorized to deduct promotional credits and bonuses against its gross revenue. The only ones who can do that are bet365, Betfred, and Betr. The near-$1.5 million amount was down 48% from October, with bet365 accounting for almost all of the previous month's total. If ESPN BET is feeling generous, they might've showered us with some heavy bonuses – they dropped around $43.9 million in PA, MI, and MD during October and November, promoting some serious betting action across those three states.
Year-over-year numbers don't lie – even with the slump in gross revenue in November, operators have garnered $496.6 million in gross winnings in 2023, a 15.3% increase compared to the same period last year. Adjusted gross revenue has soared nearly 40% to $420.5 million. The handle for the year-to-date is $4.96 billion, with a hold of just over 10%, a quarter of a percentage point up from the previous year. The handle is up 12.4% compared to the first 11 months of 2022, making Virginia the ninth state to surpass $13 billion in all-time handle.
[1] data source: Virginia Lottery official reports and press releases.
Sports betting in Virginia set a new record in November, with a handle of $638.8 million, marking a 11.8% increase from October's sports-betting figures. This impressive growth places Virginia as the ninth state to reach a monthly handle of over $600 million in the post-PASPA era.
