Virginia’s sports betting volume grew for the first time in three months, while gross gaming revenue remained strong thanks in part to betting on sports such as golf and tennis.
Virginia’s sportsbooks accepted $234.9m in wagers in June, up 4% from $227m in May, according to the latest data from the Virginia Lottery.
The June jump has helped push total gross gaming revenue past $100m since the market launched in January.
“Sportsbooks are capitalising on individual sports like golf, which are predominantly futures bets with significantly lower odds for bettors than more conventional bets on sports like football,” said Jessica Welman, analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, which includes PlayVirginia.
“Those bets are particularly important during the summer when volume drops. And it puts sportsbooks in an excellent position as the football season nears.”
Sportsbooks in the state took in about $7.8m in wagers per day during June, up from $7.3m per day in May. June’s wagers produced $22m in gross gaming revenue, down 5% from $23.2m in May, but still the third-most since the market launched.
Virginia’s sportsbooks have now produced $107m in gross revenue since launch. But promotional credits have sapped the majority of the win, even as adjusted gross revenue has risen significantly over the last two months. In total, sportsbooks have produced $49.3m in adjusted gross revenue.
“The good news is that revenue is headed in the right direction, which ultimately benefits the state in the form of more tax revenue,” said Dann Stupp, analyst for PlayVirginia.com.
FanDuel Sportsbook, the nation’s largest operator, has so far dominated the Virginia sports betting market, as stated in the Legal Sports Report, PlayVirginia’s sister site.
