Virginia sports betting handle sees 19.5% rise in October

The Virginia Lottery, which is responsible for the regulation of sports wagering in the state, has released its report for October.

From October 1 to 31, bettors in Virginia racked up an $832m handle, representing a 19.5% increase compared to the same period in 2024.

Those bets were made and recorded across fourteen different mobile operators and the three casinos authorized to take such bets.

The hold for the operators was only around 9.7% after the bettors took away winnings of $751m.

After other deductions were factored in, the operators stacked up a total revenue of just over $75m, which was almost entirely weighted towards the mobile operators.

Indeed, casino retail bets accounted for just $740,000 of the total handle.

Sports betting taxes in Virginia are made up of a 15% levy on each license holder's adjusted gross revenue (AGR), a figure that allows for certain pre-tax deductions.

After around $5.2m of such deductions, the tax yield ended up landing at $11.3m.

This was despite four of the operators not being able to report a positive AGR figure.

This public money will now be put largely toward the state's General Fund, though 2.5% of it is mandated to go into the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund, which is administered by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.

In September, the overall handle was down at $737m - and while the handle was up 18.5%, the AGR ended up reflecting a 2.1% decrease.