With Expected Dip, Virginians Wagered $236M In April Sports Betting
Virginians topped $236 million in April sports betting, pushing the overall total to nearly $900 million after a little more than three months of legal wagering.
The Virginia Lottery, which oversees sports wagering in the commonwealth, released the latest figures on Friday.
During the 31 days in April, Virginia sportsbooks took $236,432,524 in total wagers. Players won $216,990,207 off those bets, which created a hold of 8.22% for VA sportsbook operators.
The monthly total represented a dip of 22.2% from March. It also represented the first month-over-month decline since the VA sports wagering market launched on Jan. 21.
Overall, VA sports bettors wagered $304 million in March. Of course, the month benefitted from the high-profile NCAA March Madness men’s basketball tournament. The weekslong tournament is one of the most heavily bet events in the US each year.
A breakdown of April sports betting
VA sportsbooks won $19.4 million in April, which was down from the $26.6 million they pulled in during March.
That led to $11.4 million in adjusted gross revenue (AGR). That’s down from $13.8 million in March.
Overall, it yielded $1.7 million in state taxes, including $41,304 for problem gambling support.
Here’s the full breakdown:
| Month | Handle | GGR | Hold % | Promos | Other deductions | AGR | Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2022 | $401,889,135 | $27,498,133 | 6.8% | $15,816,234 | $3,797,649 | $7,884,250 | $7,884,250 |
| January 2022 | $485,544,417 | $39,050,067 | 8.0% | $16,850,981 | $3,978,519 | $18,220,567 | $2,876,609 |
| December 2021 | $426,596,891 | $31,515,015 | 7.4% | $17,051,709 | $4,339,908 | $10,123,398 | $1,729,130 |
| November 2021 | $402,621,132 | $48,337,037 | 12.0% | $14,993,073 | $3,417,267 | $29,926,697 | $4,233,167 |
| October 2021 | $427,320,306 | $30,160,385 | 7.1% | $15,805,261 | $4,569,424 | $9,785,700 | $1,746,204 |
| September 2021 | $293,851,531 | $30,929,243 | 10.5% | $17,422,068 | $3,172,781 | $10,334,395 | $1,557,498 |
| August 2021 | $182,418,252 | $17,967,427 | 9.9% | $6,868,639 | $2,410,724 | $8,688,064 | $1,378,539 |
| July 2021 | $161,901,955 | $19,965,556 | 12.3% | $4,375,872 | $2,898,664 | $12,691,020 | $1,864,433 |
| June 2021 | $234,943,435 | $22,006,296 | 9.4% | $4,983,544 | $2,125,855 | $14,896,898 | $2,273,995 |
| May 2021 | $226,963,573 | $23,173,549 | 10.2% | $5,168,732 | $2,341,616 | $15,663,201 | $2,381,115 |
| April 2021 | $236,432,523 | $19,442,317 | 8.2% | $5,529,294 | $2,532,886 | $11,380,137 | $1,652,147 |
| March 2021 | $304,066,245 | $26,573,877 | 8.7% | $10,340,533 | $2,388,332 | $13,845,012 | $1,183,487 |
| February 2021 | $265,778,306 | $12,238,730 | 4.6% | $13,187,560 | $2,282,972 | ($3,231,752) | $300,594 |
| January 2021 | $58,896,564 | $3,586,077 | 6.1% | $6,343,077 | $478,612 | ($3,235,612) | $39,710 |
| Total | $4,109,224,266 | $352,443,759 | 8.6% | $154,736,576 | $40,735,209 | $156,971,974 | $24,622,911 |
Just prior to the end of the month, VA welcomed its seventh sportsbook. Unibet sports betting launched on April 28.
Currently, Virginia has two other sportsbooks with permits but no timetable for a launch: Penn Sports Interactive (Barstool Sportsbook) and Bally’s Corporation.
April sports betting in VA
In Virginia and other states, the sports betting options tail off in April. That fact was represented in the April betting numbers.
The NFL and college football seasons are over by February, and the men’s hoops schedule concludes with the NCAA March Madness men’s basketball tournament. This season, the University of Baylor Bears emerged victorious with a title game win on April 5.
April still featured full schedules from the MLB, NBA and NHL. However, those leagues traditionally draw far less betting interest than other major sports organizations, notably the NFL.
However, Virginia isn’t alone in that spring/summer slowdown. Every state with legal sports betting has reported a month-over-month decline in April wagering. Some of those states with bigger sports betting markets that saw declines were:
- New Jersey (-13%)
- Tennessee (-13.6%)
- Pennsylvania (-14.4%)
- Indiana (-25.4%)
- Michigan (-30.5%)
The race to $1 billion in wagers
With $865.2 million total in wagers, VA bettors are closing in on $1 billion.
Virginia should set the record for the fastest state to the 10-figure milestone with even a lackluster showing in May.
Tennessee, which reached the mark six months after launch, is the current record-holder. It took Virginia’s neighbor six months to reach the $1 billion mark.
If Virginia can top an easily reachable $135 million in bets in May, it will have hit $1 billion in the market’s fifth month of existence.
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