June Sports Betting Numbers in Virginia up From 2022, Down From May

Sports betting was down in Virginia during the month of June when compared to May, but it did fare better than in 2022.

Dave Bonderoff

Last Updated: August 3, 2023 4:06 PM EDT • 3 minute read

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The Virginia Lottery released its June legal sports betting revenue figures Tuesday, and it provided some good and bad news for the state's platform.

According to the Virginia Lottery June earnings report, Virginia sports betting apps, along with their retail sports wagering providers, experienced a decrease in betting action month-over-month but an increase from the figures from the same period last year.

How much was bet in Virginia in June?

Virginia bettors spent a total of $325,455,052 at their retail casinos and with the state's best sports betting apps in June. It is the first time in nine months that the Virginia legal sports betting scene didn’t produce north of $400 million in monthly bets.

The bad news came in the form of a 19.4% monthly decrease in overall sports betting activity from the $403.7 million wagered in May. The good news is that June's totals represented a 10.2% year-over-year increase from the $295.2 million spent with state sports betting providers in June 2022.

The worst could be yet to come for Virginia state sports betting providers, however. July 2022 saw the platform bottom out with just $266 million in bets for the month.

Virginia sports betting apps accounted for just slightly over $322 million of the total $325.455 million June handle with retail providing just over $3 million in wagers.

Revenues follow similar pattern

Gross revenues for the Virginia legal sports betting scene followed a similar pattern to the handle - lower month-over-month totals but higher year-over-year results.

According to the Virginia Lottery June sports wagering activity report, $32.7 million in gross gaming revenues emerged from the state's June handle. Adjusted gaming revenue (AGR), after promotions and deductions, came in at $26.43 million, which represents a 37.8% decrease from the $42.5 million in May but a staggering 103% year-over-year increase from June 2022.

Roughly $3.9 million in taxes was collected from the state's providers from the $26.43 million in AGR, 97.5% of which is earmarked for the state's General Fund. Virginia taxes adjusted gross revenues by 15%.

Year-to-date, Virginia sportsbooks have paid out $34.5 million in taxes, which is outpacing last year's total for the same time period by $19.3 million.

Virginia sportsbooks having success

In June, Virginia sports bettors won a total of $292.8 million, allowing the state's providers to hold a respectable 10.4%. That 10.4% hold continued an impressive streak of 16 straight months that sports betting providers in the Old Dominion held more than the industry average of 7%.

In fact, in the last 12 months, Virginia sportsbooks have averaged a hold of about 10.7% and have made $546.9 million in gross revenues off of a $5.1 billion 12-month handle.

Twelve of the 16 Virginia legal sports betting operators finished June with positive adjusted gross gaming revenue, to which the state then taxed the 15% levy.

Unfortunately, the Virginia Lottery doesn't provide a breakdown of individual sportsbook successes, but it is easy to assume that DraftKings and FanDuel were the top performers in the Old Dominion market.

Written by:
Dave Bonderoff

Dave Bonderoff and betting go hand-in-hand. Both are characterized by "odds". Dave fancies himself as one of the most dedicated sports and pop-culture junkies around, to the chagrin of his family and friends. Following sports for 50 years and writing about it for 20, Dave hasn't found a sport yet that can't contribute to 2-3 straight hours of couch time. That search remains ongoing. As a good old Canadian boy, hockey is in Dave’s heart, as is curling sadly. But evolution is a real thing and that’s why football, baseball, and just about every sport on the planet has become a passion. Dave isn’t afraid to kill some time obsessing over politics or the far-too-frequent awards shows the consume the airwaves.