Over the past four months, Virginia sports fans have bet more than $865.2 million. If the state can attract wagers of $135 million when May is calculated, it would exceed $1 billion in five months, surpassing Tennessee, according to the Virginia Lottery Board.
Online betting launched in Virginia on January 21. The state has seven sportsbooks with no retail outlets yet, according to the Bristol Herald Courier.
“In most ways, Virginia and Tennessee mirror each other,” according to Jessica Welman, analyst for the Las Vegas-based PlayUSA.com network, which includes PlayVirginia.com and PlayTenn.com. “Both created online betting as the sole focus at launch and both created tax systems that have not inhibited operators even though rates are on the high side compared with other states.”
Virginia imposes a 15 percent tax on sports betting, while Tennessee has a 20 percent tax. Virginia has also brought in over $3 million in tax revenues thus far. The seven include FanDuel, DraftKings; BetMGM; William Hill, operators of the future Danville casino; WSI US LLC, or Wynn and Unibet Interactive, which went live in late April.
The three others, Barstool Sportsbook, Golden Nugget and Bally’s all hold temporary permits as they wait to go live.
