Virginia sports betting operators took over $430m in handle during February, marking a 15% monthly drop despite steady yearly growth for the market.
As data released by the Virginia Lottery displayed, operators took in $433.8m in bets during February, up 7.9% YoY. This growth could be attributed to the fact that there are physical casinos in Virginia, which were not present until July 2022.
The lottery also disclosed that there was $32.3m wagered on the Super Bowl, which was slightly down from the $33.1m wagered on the Big Game in 2022.
This may be because operators spent much less on promo credit this February compared to last year. February 2023 saw operators spend just $7.8m on promo credit, compared to $15.8 one year ago, which could lead to a dip in Super Bowl bets.
Handle also saw a monthly drop off, as fewer NFL fixtures saw handle decline 15% from January 2023, when revenue stood at over $500m.
Operators’ hold rate stood at 9.17%, with players winning $394.0m during February. This was slightly down from the 9.7% rate witnessed in January, meaning players won more often.
Taking away player winnings, the aforementioned promo credit, and other deductions, operators took $28.4m in taxable revenue in February, down around 30% from January. However, it did mark an uptick of $0.9m YoY when operators took $27.5m.
With the Virginia sports betting tax rate set at 15% of revenue, operators paid $4.7m in tax for February, up from the $1.4m paid in February 2022. However, this was down significantly from the $6.3m paid to the state in January.
