April marked the eighth straight month that Virginia sports bettors wagered more than $500 million.
The state reported $563.5 million in sports betting handle in April. While a drop from the March Madness-fueled previous month, it was a 32.3% year-over-year increase from April 2023, underscoring the industry’s growth.
It resulted in $54.6 million in adjusted gross revenue for the month.
State collects $8.2 million in April
There are currently 15 Virginia sports betting operators, which produce the bulk of handle in the commonwealth. Online operators collected $559.3 million in handle in April. Activity at the state’s three casinos was a fraction of that–just $4.2 million.
Overall, bettors won just over $502.9 million, leading to a 10.75% hold. The state assesses a 15% tax on sports wagering based on adjusted gross revenue.
The state’s General Fund receives 97.5% of tax revenue, and 2.5% goes to the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund administered by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. In April, the state collected $8.2 million in tax revenue. From that, a little over $8 million went to the state’s General Fund, with $205,259 allocated to problem gambling treatment and support.
Monthly sports betting handle continues to outpace 2023
April’s sports betting revenue was 11.4% less than March’s, but it continued the trend of outpacing 2023 numbers. Here is the sports betting handle for each month in 2024 with the year-over-year improvement in parentheses.
- January: $652.9 million (27.2%)
- February: $545.1 million (25.6%)
- March: $635.6 million (24.2%)
- April: $563.5 million (32.3%)
The state doesn’t report revenue for each individual operator, but it did reveal that 12 operators reported net positive adjusted gross revenue for the month.
Parlay bets are a driving force behind robust sports betting activity. For the first three months of 2024, parlay bets accounted for 36.8% of bets placed. The percentage of parlay bets has gradually increased over the years. For the same period in 2021, those types of wagers accounted for 18.7% of bets, with steady rises in 2022 and 2023.
