Virginia Sets Back-to-Back Sports Betting Records

Virginia’s sportsbooks had another banner month with a sports betting handle that exceeded $700 million in November, the first time that milestone has been breached in the state’s history.

Virginia Is for Bettors

An old Virginia tourism ad used the tagline, “Virginia is for lovers,” but that moniker could be changed to Virginia is for sports betting after two successive and impressive months of handles in October and November. October broke the existing record set in January 2024 with $696 million in total wagers, but November was the first month in which the handle eclipsed $700 million.

Online Sportsbooks Dominate

When the dust settled, sportsbooks in the Commonwealth reported a whopping handle of $760.9 million, a year-over-year increase of 19.1% and 9.3% higher than the previous record set in October. Online sportsbooks handled 99.4% of the action, registering $756.7 million, while brick-and-mortar locations took in just $4.2 million.

Revenues soared as well, due to an impressive 11.3% hold (win rate), which showed sportsbooks boasting a combined $80 million of adjusted gross revenues in November while the state received its fair share of $12.1 million. Of the state’s 12 online sportsbooks, 10 showed a profit in the busiest month on record.

The state does not break down monthly sports betting handles and revenues by operator, but other metrics suggest that FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM controlled over 78% of the Virginia market. FanDuel was the top sports betting operator in the state between January and September with 39.1% of the market, trailed by DraftKings (28.4%) and BetMGM (10.7%).

Sporttrade Enters Virginia

October witnessed the exit of British bookmaker Betfred from the Virginia market but welcomed the arrival of Camden, New Jersey’s Sporttrade to the market. Virginia marks the company’s fifth market, including New Jersey, Colorado, Iowa, and Arizona.

Sporttrade has a unique niche in the sports betting market with head-to-head wagering in which the house takes a rake or commission of the wagers. This is different than traditional sportsbooks that hold the wagers and payout based on winning wagers.

“We are incredibly proud to keep the Fall 2024 momentum going with our launch in the Commonwealth,” said Alex Kane, founder and CEO of Sporttrade. “There is an appetite for premium betting in Virginia, for significantly better prices at higher limits, for instant in-play betting, and a mobile experience that’s sleek and intuitive.

“Sporttrade is becoming the home of in-game betting, where players are able to place and cash out of bets, frictionlessly, as the probabilities shift,” added Kane. “Thank you to the Virginia Lottery, thank you to our players, partners, and investors, and most of all, I want to thank the Sporttrade family of employees.”

A New Approach

SIG Sports Investments Corp. (SIGSports Analytics) has also invested in the newcomer to the Virginia market with funding that will be used on a variety of fronts.

“With the U.S. sports betting industry still in its early stages, we believe there is an underserved portion of U.S. consumers hungry for a sports betting platform that prioritizes cutting-edge pricing and offers liquidity unmatched by the current regulated market,” added Joe Grubb, VP of SIGSports Analytics. “We have been impressed with what Alex and the entire Sporttrade team have built thus far and look forward to beginning to address these industry-wide challenges alongside Sporttrade.”