Sportsbook operators in Virginia did two things in January to start the new year. Bookmakers ended its skid of the total handle, decreasing while extending the $500 million handle to four months.
Virginia’s Sports Betting Market Makes a Comeback
After a two-month skid, operators in the Old Dominion made a comeback to start the new year. On Wednesday, the Virginia Lottery reported a jump of approximately two percent from December’s handle of $503 million because January’s handle registered a total of $513.1 million.
The handle also highlighted an increase of 5.7 percent from January 2022’s handle. However, the public found some level of success compared to the previous by lowering the hold rate from 10 percent to 9.7 percent. Still, the bookmakers were well above the national average of 7.2 percent.
Regardless of the minor success in lowering the win rate, the house ended up as the winner for the month. The gross revenue numbers weren’t necessarily affected. Eight bookmakers were in the black which noted significant profit for the month.
How Were the Overall Numbers for the Bookmakers?
In the Old Dominion, the $513.1 million posted in January was the third-highest monthly total in the post-PASPA era for the state. The gross revenue figure for the month signified a slight drop of 1.9 percent for the month.
Additionally, the gross revenue figures skyrocketed by 27.3 percent year-over-year. Sportsbooks operating in the state may still apply promotional credits, which could make them eligible for lower taxes.
On the other hand, the state could levy a 15 percent tax rate based on the $42.1 million in adjusted gross revenue. This was a decline of 10.4 percent from December, but double the amount of $18.4 million from January 2022.
With the results in the books, the state collected approximately $6.4 million in taxes to start 2023. Since the operation began, the state has brought in close to $78.5 million. Nearly 55 percent of the profit came via the seven months since the budget amendment was enacted prohibiting deductions by operators for more than 12 months.
How Did the Brick-And-Mortar Locations Do?
Like some states in the sports betting industry, Virginia doesn’t disclose the information in regard to the total handle, revenue, and market share of each operator. However, for the first time in its history, the state separated online numbers from their retail counterparts.
In July 2022, the Hard Rock Casino became Virginia’s inaugural physical casino location. Subsequently, in late January 2023, the Rivers Casino followed suit by opening its doors to the public.
Without a doubt, the retail sports betting volume cannot live up to the numbers posted by the mobile markets because of its availability and convenience. The retail market just made up 0.4 percent of the market.
The entire handle surpassed just 2.1 million for the month. Despite the low average betting volume in the retail department, the gaming facilities posted a hold rate of 15 percent, which led to $284,851 in gross revenue.
