Virginia wagering operators see 24.6% year over year revenue growth in May

Handle and revenue were down for Virginia wagering operators against April, but that is consistent with the US sports calendar. The men’s and women’s NCAA basketball semi-finals and finals were played in April. This year’s women’s basketball tournament fetched more handle than ever before.

May featured the start of the post-season in the NBA and NHL as well as regular-season baseball.

Virginia wagering operators had an 11.9% win rate, continuing a trend of double-digit holds, according to the report. It marked the 21st time that operators had a double-digit hold since the first platforms went live in January 2021.

The state was able to tax $53.6m of the total AGR as operators wrote off just over $6m in promotions and “other deductions”. When sports betting was first legalised, operators could deduct promotional play. But in June 2022, regulators changed the playing field, restricting promotional write-offs to the first 12 months a platform is live.

Betr, Fanatics only operators who can write down promos

Betr, which launched 6 September 2023, and Fanatics, which launched 21 November 2023, are the only Virginia wagering operators now eligible for write-offs.

The state netted $8.1m in tax revenue, including $202,184 that was directed to problem and responsible gaming funding. By law, 2.5% of tax revenue is earmarked for problem and responsible gaming initiatives.

The Virginia Lottery does not break down its sports betting reports by operator or sport. However, of the 14 live operators, the lottery reported that 11 had net positive AGR in May.

Virginia is the ninth-biggest US state by population with legal online sports betting. The next closest in size is New Jersey, where bettors wagered $801.5m in May and operators had gross gaming revenue of $78.8m.