According to data released by the Virginia Lottery, December was the third consecutive month that saw over $400m in handle. Wagers for the last month of 2021 were up 6% compared to November and less than $1m short of the record $427.3m collected in October.
Bettors poured in $13.8m per day over the 31 days of December, from $13.4m per day for November.
Sportsbooks generated $10.1m in taxable revenue, which yielded $1.7m in state taxes, after $17.1m in promotional spending.
Virginia’s first year of legal betting began on 21 January 2021 and is considered among the best debuts in US history.
The state’s sportsbooks generated $3.2bn in wagers for 2021, the eighth-highest among the US states that legalised some form of sports betting during the year. Virginia collected $20.3m in state taxes from $285.9m in gross revenue for 2021.
Analysts consider the state’s betting market to still be young and Eric Ramsey, an Analyst for PlayUSA Network (which includes PlayVirginia), said: "As impressive as the first year of sports betting has been, Virginia's market has not come close to maturity.
"Virginians are still getting comfortable with legal sports betting in its many forms, and operators will continue to look for ways to expand their base. 2021 was just the beginning."
According to analysts, the first year of sports betting in Virginia has been an ‘eye-opener.’ Commonwealth has quickly become one of the nation’s largest markets and it also built a strong regulatory framework that operators find appealing.
