Virginia sportsbooks took an overall handle of $351.5m in May, a 55% increase year-on-year, according to the Virginia Lottery.
Additionally, the 14 licensed operators in the Old Dominion State earned a combined hold rate of 12.1% between May 1 and May 31, making it the highest of the year so far (January: 8%, February 6.5%, March: 7.2%, April: 9.1%).
During the same period last year, only seven operators were active.
Sportsbooks in Virginia have taken in bigger handles during previous months of 2022, though, as figures in February and March were significantly boosted by the Super Bowl and March Madness, respectively.
In April, the state’s handle came in at $399.5m, a 69% growth YoY (April 2021: $236.4m).
Meanwhile, Virginia bettors won a total of $308.9m during May, and a combined total of $5.3bn has been wagered on a wide variety of approved sporting events throughout the first five months of 2022.
Under state law, a 15% tax is placed on sports betting activity based on each permit holder’s AGR. Operators are permitted to deduct certain customer acquisition costs from AGR, and they reported nearly $10m in bonuses and free-play incentives in May.
Five operators reported net positive AGR for May, leading to $3.9m in tax payments.
