In March, Virginia’s sports betting handle surpassed the half-a-billion-dollar mark, but the month of April saw a decline in betting activity. While more than $420 million was wagered on sports in April, it was an 18% drop from the previous month’s high of $512 million, which was boosted by March Madness bets.
However, April’s handle still outperformed the same month in 2022 by 6.6% and was only 2% lower than the betting activity in March. After accounting for rebates, the state collected nearly $6 million in sports betting revenue for April, as reported in a press release distributed on Thursday morning.
Virginia participants won $378M in The spring
Overall, April was another strong month of business for Virginia sports betting . According to the Virginia Lottery, $422,465,093 was wagered on sports in the month.
Participants who placed bets on sports in Virginia won $378 million in April. After deducting expenses, transactions, free plays, and other bonuses, sportsbooks retained $38.8 million in adjusted gross revenue, with a hold of 12.6%. This is a significant gain for just one month of operation.
Business goes on upward direction in 2023
So far this year, Virginia sports bettors have wagered nearly $1.9 billion, with the majority of that handle coming from online outlets. As of the latest data in 2023, only $13.8 million has been wagered at brick-and-mortar facilities.
This amount is significantly ahead of the pace from the previous year. During the first three months of 2022, operators reported over $1.75 billion in handle. At that time, there were 12 licensed sports betting providers in the state. This year, there are 16 providers, contributing to the increased handle.
Talk about tax funds goes to standard fund together with responsible games fund
In April, the state of Virginia collected around $5.8 million from the 15% tax on sports betting operators. While this amount represents a decrease from March’s total of over $7.5 million, it is a significant increase from February’s tax take of nearly $4.7 million and almost double the amount collected in April of the previous year, which was approximately $3 million.
Out of the fifteen sports betting operators in Virginia, fifteen reported positive adjusted gross revenue for April, while the other six did not make a profit and therefore did not contribute to the state’s tax revenue.
The tax revenue is allocated in two parts in Virginia, with 97.5% going to the General Fund to support various projects and services across the state, and the remaining 2.5% going to responsible gambling programs in the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund.
In April, around $145,000 was allocated to the problem gambling fund, with the rest going to the General Fund. So far in 2023, Virginia sports betting operators have paid over $24.2 million in taxes, with more than $606,000 supporting programs addressing problem gambling in the state.
