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Virginia Posts Fourth Straight $500 Million Sports Betting Month

Dave Bonderoff

Last Updated: March 5, 2023 12:42 PM EST • 1 min 58 sec read.

Jayden Gardner #1 of the Virginia Cavaliers is congratulated by teammates after scoring a basket and drawing a foul against the Illinois Fighting Illini in the first half of the championship game of the Continental Tire Main Event basketball tournament at
Jayden Gardner #1 of the Virginia Cavaliers is congratulated by teammates after scoring a basket and drawing a foul against the Illinois Fighting Illini in the first half of the championship game of the Continental Tire Main Event basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on Nov. 20. Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP

The legal sports betting scene in the Old Dominion keeps chugging along.

With the latest batch of impressive numbers released Wednesday by the Virginia Lottery, it looks like everybody tied to the platform in the statewill keep reaping the rewards from one of the most reliable gambling jurisdictions in the country.

January's figures snapped a slump of two straight months of handle decline in Virginia, which followed the $528,029,938 handle record the state’s sportsbooks registered in October.

In January, Virginia sports betting providers posted the third-best month ever for the state's legal sports betting industry. The momentum should continue with February's Super Bowl inflated numbers yet to be released and with March Madness on the horizon.

Virginia enjoys a sensational January

Betting sites took in $513.2 million in bets during the 31 days in January. That's up from $503.1 million, or about 2% more than was wagered in December. It amounted to about $16.5 million per day being spent at the state’s mobile and retail sportsbooks during the month.

Year-over-year, January 2023's sports betting handle represented a 5.7% increase from the $485.5 million in bets reported during January 2022.

10 of the Virginia’s 16 sportsbooks posted net positive adjusted gross revenues during the month, proving just how strong the overall Virginia legal sports betting platform is.

Revenues actually revealed a month-over-month dip for Virginia sportsbooks in January. $42.1 million was made by the state's providers while $50.7 million in revenues was reported in December. This was largely due to Virginia bettors winning more during the month - the January hold rate was 9.7%, down from 10% in December.

As a result, tax contributions to the state slid just about 10% to just under $6.4 million.

Mobile domination continues

Unsurprisingly, Virginia’s mobile sports betting operators were responsible for the vast majority of the overall January sports betting handle, almost all in fact. But in January we did get a glimpse into what the state’s retail providers are contributing. January happened to be the first month that the Virginia Lottery started tracking and separating retail sports betting action.

In the end, retail facilities Hard Rock Casino and Rivers Casino contributed less than 1% of the overall January state handle. Whether that increases or not, Virginia’s legal sports betting scene looked as strong as ever with its robust mobile platform.

Looking ahead

There is a real chance that Virginia sports betting sites – led as always by the best sportsbooks in the industry – could set a record in February or March. February, despite being a short month did have 14 days of Super Bowl betting. March is the start of the ever-popular March Madness and is also the launch of Massachusetts sports betting - a nearby state.

Analysts from BetVirginia that feel that one or both months could see the monthly handles approach or even eclipse the $600 million mark. You'll need to stay tuned to see if Virginia reaches that plateau in February or March – but the smart money is on them doing just that.

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.