The August 2021 sports betting handle has left Virginia online sportsbooks with a bit more pep in their step after a successful bounce back.
In all, Virginia sports bettors wagered $182.4 million during the month of August, Virginia Lottery officials announced on Friday.
That’s a 12.7% increase from July. During that month, bettors wagered just $161.9 million, an all-time low since VA sports-betting operators began accepting wagers in late January.
That August 2021 sports betting bounce-back was due in part to the late-August return of college football. It’s also a precursor for what should be record-breaking months ahead with NFL betting and NCAA college football betting dominating fall and winter weekends.
A look at August 2021 sports betting totals
August 2021 Virginia sports betting featured a handful of NCAAF games, including the Nebraska vs. Illinois season opener. Virginia sports bettors had other football betting options, though.
They included college futures, NFL preseason games, NFL futures, and other specialty markets geared around the gridiron. After all, football is, by far, the most popular option for sports bettors.
In fact, bettors traditionally tally 50-60% of their annual wagering dollars in the final four months of the year.
However, the MLB season again provided Virginia sportsbooks a little runway to the key fall season.
Here’s the full monthly breakdown of August 2021 sports betting revenue for Virginia:
| Month | Handle | AGR | Hold % | Promos | Other deductions | AGR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2024 | $415,360,427 | $45,490,749 | 10.9 | $10,956 | $5,007,357 | $40,472,436 |
| May 2024 | $505,594,450 | $59,966,999 | 11.8% | $11,705 | $6,022,600 | $53,932,694 |
| April 2024 | $563,495,540 | $60,438,989 | 10.7% | $11,185 | $5,908,786 | $54,629,226 |
| March 2024 | $635,593,137 | $47,152,120 | 7.5% | $12,973 | $5,182,715 | $42,435,808 |
| February 2024 | $545,068,429 | $49,715,724 | 9.2% | $20,981 | $5,529,773 | $44,454,418 |
| January 2024 | $652,879,750 | $73,402,939 | 11.4% | $1,675,956 | $5,099,228 | $67,507,323 |
| December 2023 | $633,181,758 | $62,635,708 | 10.0% | $1,877,436 | $4,486,382 | $57,187,962 |
| November 2023 | $638,831,057 | $42,530,668 | 6.7% | $1,454,896 | $5,100,909 | $36,354,936 |
| October 2023 | $571,354,817 | $63,996,952 | 11.2% | $2,798,787 | $4,834,082 | $56,364,083 |
| September 2023 | $520,304,187 | $54,081,414 | 10.4% | $3,684,887 | $4,780,308 | $45,616,219 |
| August 2023 | $319,005,942 | $32,359,888 | 10.1% | $743,076 | $3,711,669 | $27,905,144 |
| July 2023 | $293,611,789 | $32,471,396 | 11.1% | $827,332 | $3,433,137 | $28,210,927 |
| June 2023 | $325,455,052 | $32,668,024 | 10.0% | $1,318,014 | $4,915,680 | $26,434,330 |
| May 2023 | $403,719,160 | $48,144,550 | 11.9% | $1,781,519 | $3,815,651 | $42,547,380 |
| April 2023 | $425,982,859 | $45,121,878 | 10.6% | $1,941,696 | $4,247,815 | $38,932,367 |
| March 2023 | $511,614,541 | $55,258,910 | 10.8% | $3,802,388 | $3,805,159 | $47,651,362 |
| February 2023 | $433,807,108 | $39,766,908 | 9.2% | $7,789,446 | $3,592,213 | $28,385,249 |
| January 2023 | $510,982,033 | $49,393,812 | 9.7% | $768,221 | $6,782,949 | $41,842,641 |
| December 2022 | $503,075,150 | $50,687,278 | 10.1% | $567,709 | $3,099,072 | $47,020,497 |
| November 2022 | $518,818,987 | $57,531,255 | 11.1% | $817,857 | $3,887,949 | $52,825,450 |
| October 2022 | $528,029,938 | $51,164,199 | 9.7% | $963,187 | $4,668,013 | $45,532,999 |
| September 2022 | $411,273,323 | $53,821,382 | 13.1% | $1,706,116 | $3,722,575 | $48,392,691 |
| August 2022 | $284,671,331 | $36,978,897 | 13.0% | $1,140,242 | $4,395,696 | $31,442,959 |
| July 2022 | $266,001,583 | $26,024,408 | 9.8% | $396,903 | $4,228,729 | $21,398,776 |
| June 2022 | $295,235,271 | $25,965,182 | 8.8% | $7,834,123 | $5,146,174 | $12,984,884 |
| May 2022 | $351,452,931 | $42,537,524 | 12.1% | $9,967,230 | $5,045,967 | $27,524,327 |
| April 2022 | $399,478,366 | $36,275,264 | 9.1% | $11,253,534 | $4,260,348 | $20,761,381 |
| March 2022 | $469,484,017 | $33,700,016 | 7.2% | $14,104,925 | $5,270,649 | $14,324,441 |
| February 2022 | $401,889,135 | $27,498,133 | 6.8% | $15,816,234 | $3,797,649 | $7,884,250 |
| January 2022 | $485,544,417 | $39,050,067 | 8.0% | $16,850,981 | $3,978,519 | $18,220,567 |
| December 2021 | $426,596,891 | $31,515,015 | 7.4% | $17,051,709 | $4,339,908 | $10,123,398 |
| November 2021 | $402,621,132 | $48,337,037 | 12% | $14,993,073 | $3,417,267 | $29,926,697 |
| October 2021 | $427,320,306 | $30,160,385 | 7.1% | $15,805,261 | $4,569,424 | $9,785,700 |
| September 2021 | $293,851,531 | $30,929,244 | 10.5% | $17,422,068 | $3,172,781 | $10,334,395 |
| August 2021 | $182,418,252 | $17,967,427 | 9.8% | $6,868,639 | $2,410,724 | $8,688,064 |
| July 2021 | $161,901,955 | $19,913,941 | 12.3% | $4,375,872 | $2,898,664 | $12,691,020 |
| June 2021 | $234,943,435 | $22,006,297 | 9.4% | $4,983,544 | $2,125,855 | $14,896,898 |
| May 2021 | $226,963,573 | $23,150,284 | 10.2% | $5,168,732 | $2,341,616 | $15,663,201 |
| April 2021 | $236,432,523 | $19,442,317 | 8.2% | $5,529,294 | $2,532,886 | $11,380,137 |
| March 2021 | $304,066,245 | $26,573,877 | 8.7% | $10,340,533 | $2,388,332 | $13,845,012 |
| February 2021 | $265,778,306 | $18,702,284 | 7.0% | $13,187,560 | $2,282,972 | $3,231,752 |
| January 2021 | $58,896,564 | $10,057,301 | 17.1% | $6,343,077 | $478,612 | $3,235,612 |
| Total | $17,042,587,198 | $1,674,586,642 | 10.0% | $234,019,857 | $170,716,794 | $1,272,979,613 |
Breaking down the August numbers, bettors averaged $5.9 million in daily wagers. That’s a solid 13.4% increase over July, which was a record low for monthly handle in Old Dominion with $5.2 million in average daily handle.
Year-to-date Virginia handle surpasses $1.4 billion
During August sportsbooks registered gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $17,967,427. That was actually a decrease from July, thanks to a dip in hold (operators’ winnings) from 12.3% to 9.9%.
The adjusted gross revenue (AGR) for August was $8,688,064, also down from June ($12,691,020).
AGR is determined by deducting total winnings and authorized expenses (mainly player bonuses and other promos) from total wagers. Spending increased substantially in August as sportsbooks geared up for the fall season.
August also created $1,378,539 in state taxes, including $34,463 for problem gambling support.
Fall football means promos galore
With the help of betting interest in the ever-popular March Madness basketball tournament, VA sportsbooks set their monthly high in March. They tallied $304.1 million in wagers and $26.6 million in GGR during that 31-day period.
However, Virginia could very well topple that high-water mark in the next few months.
Part of the reason is the influx of new players during football season. That’s largely the result of increased marketing and promotional spending during the gridiron season. In addition to an influx of TV and digital advertising, sportsbooks get quite generous with their promos via bonus bets, match deposits, odds boosts, and even NFL jersey giveaways.
Additionally, in March, only five VA sportsbooks (FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, BetRivers, and Caesars/William Hill) were operational for the entire month. Three others have since joined the mix, including WynnBET, Unibet Virginia, and Barstool Sportsbook, which made its VA debut 10 days into August.
With those additional sportsbooks, as well as the expected launch of Golden Nugget Virginia any day now, the August 2021 sports betting improvement should simply be a preview of what’s to come in future months.
