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, December vs. November

Virginia sports betting capped off a highly successful 2024 with the second-best monthly handle on record, according to data that the Virginia Lottery reported on Jan. 31.

Bettors wagered $734,380,460 during December, a figure that was just 3.5% lower than the all-time record monthly handle of $760,965,450 in November. December’s mobile sports betting traffic accounted for $729,487,117 of the wagers, a slight decline of 3.6% from November’s record $756,761,150.

December was a far better month for Virginia bettors than the month before. Operators reported revenues of $43,890,390 for the final month of 2024, a 45.6% drop from the $80,644,860 they won in November. Mobile apps generated $43,903,273 in revenue during December. That was 45.1% lower than the $79,978,171 they received in November.

The drop in revenues also led to a steep decline in tax receipts. Virginia received $6,598,301 in December, down 45.5% from the $12,101,176 the state collected in November.

With December’s totals now in, Virginia sports bettors wagered $6,925,832,328 in 2024. That’s a 23.9% increase from the $5,590,022,862 handle from 2023. Operators also reported an increase in revenue, as the $617,820,478 they won was up 38% from the $447,717,451 they reported in 2023.

The Virginia Lottery does not break down handle or revenue figures by operator.

Virginia Mobile Sports Betting History