The Virginia Lottery reported sports betting handle of $635.6 million for the month of March on Wednesday, the commonwealth’s third-highest total.
Wagering increased 24.2% compared to the $511.6 million worth of bets placed in March 2023 as Virginia became the 10th state to surpass $15 billion in handle in the post-PASPA era. All four instances of handle in the Old Dominion clearing $600 million have occurred in the last five months.
Despite the increased activity, operators were unable to surpass $50 million in gross sports betting revenue for the fourth consecutive month, coming up short at $47.7 million. That was down 13.7% from March 2023 as the 7.5% hold last month was 3.3 percentage points lower. The March win rate also ranked eighth-lowest in 39 months of sports betting in Virginia and marked only the second time in the last 21 months it was below 8%.
The state was able to levy its 15% tax on $42.4 million in adjusted gross revenue, which was down 10.9% compared to 12 months prior. Promotional credits and bonuses accounted for only $13,000 of the nearly $5.3 million in total deductions when including the federal excise tax and operator loss carryover, the lowest in state history.