In only five months of sports betting, Virginia became the fastest state to reach $1 billion in handle, more than half coming from FanDuel. FanDuel generated $542.7 million in handle and $21.7 million in gross revenue. That’s almost twice DraftKings’ $280.9 million in handle over that period, and quadruple DraftKings’ revenue of $5.4 million.
BetMGM, BetRivers and William Hill round out the top five.
FanDuel’s domination owes in part to a partnership with the Washington Football Team, which gave them a jump on its competitors. The laws governing sports betting gives preferential treatment to pro sports organizations headquartered in the Commonwealth.
The timing was such that FanDuel sportsbook was the only legal sportsbook show in town for the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday ahead of the NFL’s Conference Championship weekend, when NBA and NHL were also in full swing. In other words, FanDuel had about 72 hours to bring bettors and bankrolls aboard before DraftKings got the green light to enter the situation.
