FanDuel fueled January’s all-time highs for monthly sports betting handle and gross revenue in Virginia, according to figures from a fulfilled Freedom of Information Act request submitted by Sports Handle to the Virginia Lottery.
It was a good opening to 2024 for multiple mobile operators. Five set monthly highs in the Old Dominion for handle and five topped $1 million in gross revenue. FanDuel’s staggering haul of $37.9 million, though, more than compensated for those who had subpar months and was a key reason the statewide hold was a robust 11.4% in January.
Those in Virginia used their sports betting apps frequently as mobile handle reached an all-time monthly high of $646.2 million. The 16 digital sportsbooks combined for $73.4 million in gross winnings, sticking that 11.4% win rate while the three retail venues chipped in over $934,000 from $6.6 million worth of wagers to craft a 14.1% hold.
FanDuel keeps winning
January #SportsBetting numbers 🧵for #Virginia via @VirginiaLottery. Rankings out of 37 months in parentheses.
Handle: $652,879,750 (1)
GGR: $74,337,290 (1)
GGR Win Rate: 11.39% (7)
AGR: $67,507,323 (1)
AGR WR: 10.34% (4)
Taxes: $9,932,1221/x #SportsBettingX #GamblingX
— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) March 1, 2024
Still the only mobile book in Virginia to eclipse $200 million handle, FanDuel is also the only one to top $30 million in gross revenue. But the $37.8 million in winnings breezed past its previous best of $32.5 million established in November 2022.
FanDuel had a hold of nearly 14.5%, its highest since fashioning a 15.6% win rate in September 2022. The $261.9 million worth of accepted wagers trailed only the $265.8 million to close out last year and marked the third consecutive month FanDuel topped $260 million handle. Nearly 20% of its $5.56 billion handle generated in the Old Dominion — $1.03 billion worth — has come in the last four months.
DraftKings had its best month in terms of performance in Virginia, reaping $19.5 million in winnings thanks to an 11.4% win rate from $171 million handle. That edged over its previous record of $19.2 million from October as DraftKings reached eight figures in revenue for the fifth straight month, tying a record set from September 2022 to January 2023.
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BetMGM surpassed $2 billion in all-time handle in Virginia, accepting $68.4 million worth of wagers to start 2024. It crossed $7 million in gross revenue for the first time since last March, posting a 10.8% hold in winning $7.4 million from the betting public.
Caesars fended off ESPN BET for the No. 4 spot when it came to handle, generating an all-time high of $42.8 million. ESPN BET was no slouch at $38.7 million, sending it over $100 million worth of accepted bets since November when PENN Entertainment rolled out the successor to Barstool Sportsbook.
Both operators, though, had trouble turning that handle into revenue; Caesars had a sub-4% hold in keeping just $1.7 million, while ESPN BET had a 1.8% win rate that resulted in $687,000 in gross winnings. BetRivers also landed in this group, failing to make hay of a record $11.2 million handle as a 3.8% hold resulted in $425,200 in revenue.
bet365 puts dent into adjusted revenue deficit
Top 10 January #SportsBetting state tax revenue by state:
1 New York $107.9M
2 Penn. $23.77M
3 Ohio ~$22.7M
4 New Jersey $22.21M
5 Mass. $14.17M
6 VIRGINIA $9.93M
7 Oregon ~$9.9M
8 Tennessee ~$8.6M
9 Maryland $8.25M
10 Louisiana $5.68M#SportsBettingX #GamblingX— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) March 1, 2024
January marked the final month bet365 could deduct promotional credits and bonuses against its gross revenue, and the $1.6 million-plus outlay brought its total spend in the Old Dominion to $28.7 million since launching in January 2023. The $27.3 million handle to start 2024 pushed bet365’s all-time total over $250 million, and the operator has proven to be a formidable opponent to the betting public.
It claimed $3.8 million in gross winnings while posting a 13.9% hold, and bet365 has had a win rate of 8.6% or higher in all 13 months it has conducted wagering. The $1.2 million in adjusted gross revenue for January that bet365 put against its overall negative AGR accrued with the promotional deductions lessened the deficit to minus-$2.9 million. It put it on a pace to reach positive AGR — and pay taxes to the state — in April.
Betfred was the other Virginia mobile operator whose clock on deductions ran out in January, with its overall outlay totaling $660,000 after a negative adjustment of $6,700 was counted. It had a 4.8% hold on $563,905 handle for the first month of the year, collecting $27,129 in gross revenue. Betfred’s AGR for the month was higher than its gross revenue at $30,228 following adjustments, and its deficit heading into February wagering was a more tidy minus-$343,000.
PointsBet came within $65,000 of the $1 million mark in revenue, enjoying its best month since collecting $1.4 million in winnings in November 2022 while generating $7.8 million handle. Hard Rock Bet had its second-best month in the Old Dominion — the $12.9 million in accepted wagers trailed only the $16.1 million taken last October, while the $785,000 in revenue slotted behind the $832,000 claimed in September 2022.
Betway achieved the double of top monthly totals in revenue and handle, eclipsing $200,000 for the first time in the former and reaching $1.7 million in the latter to fashion an 11.5% hold.
