Virginia sportsbooks handled less than $300m in June, a significant decline on May’s $351.5m as most major sports leagues remain in the offseason.
According to data released by the Virginia Lottery, sportsbooks posted a handle of $295.2m during June and, while that remains some way off May 2021’s handle of $351.5m, it does represent a 25% increase from June 2021.
This increase in the handle is attributed to the number of licensed operators doubling from seven to 14 in the last 12 months.
The 14 licensed operators in the Old Dominion state recorded a hold rate of 8.8%, with punters winning slightly more than in May, when the hold rate for sportsbooks stood at 12.1%. This also puts June as the third highest hold rate for operators (January: 8%, February 6.5%, March: 7.2%, April: 9.1%).
The monthly decline in handle is driven by a drop-off in major sporting fixtures from earlier in the year, which were driven by events such as the Super Bowl and March Madness.
Virginia sportsbooks also posted an AGR of $12.9m following deductions of promotions, bonuses and other expenditures.
As per state law, 15% of AGR is subject to taxes, meaning that Virginia sportsbooks yielded $1.8m in total tax during June.
Of this, $1.86m went into the state’s General Fund Allocation, whilst $46,799 will go towards problem gambling treatment and support funds to help those suffering from gambling addiction.
