Virginia Sports Betting Revenue And Handle

The experts at BetVirginia.com have assembled this guide to explain what we mean when we talk about revenue and sportsbook handle for Virginia sports betting that the state reports each month.

There is an active market with many online or mobile operators as well as a growing number of retail sports wagering options at brick-and-mortar casinos in the commonwealth.

The handle is simply the total dollars wagered on sports in the state each month. In Virginia, bettors wager hundreds of million of dollars each month. From the time legal sports betting launched in January 2021 to early 2023, legal, regulated sports bets were placed exclusively with online sportsbooks. Since then, physical casinos have begun taking retail wagers on sports, albeit in much smaller numbers.

The revenue refers to the amount that operators have left after they pay out winning bets. From there, bookmakers pay 15% tax to the state on the adjusted gross revenue. Those operators often offer Virginia sportsbook promo codes to their customers.

Virginia Sports Betting, January vs. December

Virginia sports betting enjoyed a strong start to 2025 as for the second straight month the state produced the second-best monthly handle. That’s according to a report the Virginia Lottery released on Feb. 28.

During January, the state’s sportsbook accepted $736,667,692 in wagers. That was a .3% increase from the $734,380,460 handle the operators reported in December. Virginia’s mobile sports betting apps were responsible for 99.2% of the wagering, as they reported a combined handle of $730,489,687.

Unlike the marginal increase in handle, Virginia’s operators saw a significant increase in revenue. They reported $80,999,847 in January, an 84.6% improvement from December’s total of $43,890,390. Revenues from mobile betting totaled $80,169,746, up 82.6% from the $43,903,273 the apps earned in December.

State revenue from sports betting also rose substantially, as the $12,137,426 in Virginia sports betting taxes represented an 84% increase from the $6,598,301 the state received in December.

On a year-to-year basis, Virginia saw betting traffic increase by 14% compared to the January 2024 handle of $646,246,293. Revenues improved by 21.6% from the $66,627,755 operators reported for the first month of 2024. The state’s January sports betting tax revenue was also up 23.5% from the $9,831,208 the commonwealth received during the previous year.

The Virginia Lottery does not report handle or revenue figures for its licensed operators.

Virginia Mobile Sports Betting History