The state of Virginia had a long history of no gambling of any kind, but that all changed once sports betting became a possibility. Now, this state has become one of the biggest sports betting markets in the country, and the numbers continue to get bigger.
The total sports betting handle total for the month of October was $571 million, and nearly 99% of those bets were placed online. Retail sports betting options are still very limited in the state, but that should also be changing over time.
Not only is this a great number when comparing it to other states, but this number also shows that the market is still growing. The October handle was up 10% from what was reported in September, and it was also an 8% increase from 12 months ago.
There are more than a dozen mobile sportsbooks in Virginia, and those sportsbooks performed well against sports bettors as well. The hold rate was just over 11% for the month and that led to a revenue of more than $56 million.
Virginia is never going to become one of the biggest sports betting markets in the country, but it has positioned itself to be inside of the top-10.
Two Leaders Setting the Tone
The report from the Virginia Lottery Commission does not break down the totals for each operator, but that information has been provided by individual sportsbooks. As expected, a large chunk of the handle and revenue came from DraftKings and FanDuel.
These two massive operators combined for nearly $410 million of the total handle, and it was FanDuel that got the better of DraftKings in October. FanDuel had it’s best month on record in the state as it posted a total sports betting handle of $240.7 million.
DraftKings posted a total sports betting handle of $168.8 million in October, and that was better than it’s previous high. This operator hasn’t been able to catch up to it’s top rival in Virginia, but there are other states in which it is the leader.
BetMGM Sportsbook is used to sitting behind DraftKings and FanDuel in the rankings, and that is where it landed in October. There is a large gap between second and third place, but BetMGM is still putting up some solid numbers.
Unibet Looking to Leave Virginia
Not all of the recent sports betting news in Virginia has been positive as bettors are soon going to lose out on another option. Unibet is going to be out of the state by the end of the second quarter, and Virginia won’t be the only state that loses this app.
The Kindred Group owns and operates Unibet, among some other online gambling sites. That group no longer has a desire to operate in the United States and it is working hard to remove its mobile apps from the country.
Unibet has been available in the state of Virginia since April 28, 2021, but it just never was able to compete with some of the other big names.
