Virginia Sports Betting Revenue – January 2021
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Mar 1, 2021
Virginia Sports Betting Revenue January 2021 – Virginia only had 11 full days of legalized sports betting in January, but bettors didn’t waste any time getting their action in. The Virginia Lottery reported a $58.9 million betting handle in the first month of 2021, the second-best opening month for any state with legal sports betting.
Gross revenue for Virginia sportsbooks was $3.6 million, but when adjusting it with the $6.3 million in bonuses sportsbooks handed out due to sign-ups and promo codes, revenue was -$3.2 million. Virginia was able to collect $39,710 in taxes in its first month.
The Commonwealth has yet to report betting numbers on this year’s Super Bowl, but the big game should be an early springboard for the state’s sports betting industry heading into next month. The state did not detail which sportsbooks or sports received the most love in January.
However, Virginia benefitted from having names like DraftKings, FanDuel, BetRivers, and BetMGM enter the state in the first week of legal sports betting. Overall, the state has five sportsbooks operating in the Commonwealth, with more on the way in the coming months.
Virginia adopting Tennessee’s online-only sports betting industry looks to be promising in 2021.
More Sportsbooks, More Virginia Sports Betting
When the Commonwealth passed sports betting, the state capped the number of betting licenses at 12. Virginia quickly saw applications pile in when the Virginia Lottery began accepting them – 25 to be exact.
With how competitive Virginia sports betting is shaping up to be, lawmakers filed more sports betting bills to expand the number of operators allowed to enter.
If passed, mobile sports betting licenses for casinos will not count towards the 12 online-only license cap. Also, the state will do a better job of promoting minority businesses to receive sports betting licenses, which both bills adopted.
Virginia lawmakers will also allow betting on the Olympics and change the language to allow the Virginia Lottery to create new betting markets without legislation. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam could sign both bills by the end of the month.