Customers on Virginia sports betting apps will soon be introduced to sports microbetting, as startup company Betr has been approved to operate in the state. The Virginia Lottery awarded Betr a permit on March 3 to provide online/mobile sports betting in the commonwealth.
The company officially first launched in Ohio on Jan. 1. After a successful soft launch in Ohio, Betr has activated account deposits and withdrawals statewide.
“The company set a U.S. online sports betting record for fastest launch from company founding to a fully licensed & regulated real money betting product,” Betr said in a company press release. The company has also been approved to launch in Massachusetts on March 10, when that state's mobile sportsbooks launch.
More About The Betr Sports Betting App
The Betr app for Virginia sports betting will be available on both the iOS and Android stores with plans to launch the real money gaming product in additional states over the coming months.
Founded by sports betting veteran Joey Levy and professional boxer Jake Paul, Miami-based Betr is the world's first microbetting focused app. Microbetting enables users to predict the outcomes of every moment of every sporting event. For example, every possession of an NBA game, every play and drive in the NFL and college football, and every pitch and at-bat of all MLB games.
For their Ohio launch in January, Betr handled nearly $1.1 million in wagers and paid out $953,842 in winnings. The company, in partnership with Hall of Fame Village in Canton, ended up with gross revenue of $106,439.
Founded in 2022, Betr plans a gradual, methodical approach to state-by-state expansion, “where we will take the time necessary to discover and validate product-market-fit of our highly differentiated product experience to ensure we scale in a profitable manner,” Levy said.
Virginia Sportsbook Apps List Grows
Betr is the 17th online/mobile sports betting operator to enter Virginia. After the DraftKings VA Sportsbook acquired Golden Nugget Online Gaming, there are 15 companies operating today in Virginia. Betr, once it is live, will be the 16th. FanDuel was the first online/mobile sports operator to launch in the state in January 2021.
Since its start, Virginians have wagered more than $8.6 billion on sports over two years. Sports operators in the commonwealth handled $514.2 million in wagers in January alone, up 2% from December ($503.1 million) and up 5.7% from January 2022 ($485.5 million), according to the Virginia Lottery.
Latest on Virginia Retail Sports Betting
In-person retail sports betting at Virginia casinos are seeing less action compared to the booming online market, which includes operators offering Virginia sportsbook promo codes.
According to a monthly report released by the Virginia Lottery, casino sportsbooks handled $2.1 million in wagers in January, compared to $510 million wagered online.
Two retail sportsbooks are currently operating in the state, Hard Rock Sportsbook at Bristol Casino and BetRivers VA Sportsbook at Rivers Casinos Portsmouth. Hard Rock opened July 8, 2022, with BetRIvers following on Jan. 23, 2023.
During a ceremonial first wager event on Jan. 21, before BetRivers Sportsbook officially opened, Rush Street Gaming CEO Tim Drehkoff stated high hopes for the retail location.
“Next year the biggest college bowl game watch party is going to be right here in the BetRivers Sportsbook, here at Rivers Casino Portsmouth,” Drehkoff said. “Since the Supreme Court approved legal sports betting in 2018, it's become a multi-billion-dollar business. With this BetRivers Sportsbook, here at Rivers, now Hampton Roads can get in on some of that action. This place is gonna be rocking for all those events.”
Two other retail sportsbooks are planned in the state: a Caesars Virginia Sportsbook at the company’s casino in Danville, and HeadWaters Resort & Casino in Norfolk.
