Gross gaming revenues (GGR) within Virginia in June pushed past the $100m benchmark, the first time since the market launched, according to PlayVirginia.
June’s strong GGR performance – thanks in part to betting on sports such as golf and tennis – also saw sports betting volumes grow for the first time in three months.
“Sportsbooks are capitalising on individual sports like golf, which are predominantly futures bets with significantly lower odds for bettors than more conventional bets on sports like football,” said Jessica Welman, an analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, which includes PlayVirginia. “Those bets are particularly important during the summer when volume drops. And it puts sportsbooks in an excellent position as the football season nears.”
June’s wagers produced $22.0m in GGR, down five per cent from $23.2m in May, but still the third-most since the market launched in January. Adjusted gross revenue hit $14.9m, falling short of the $15.7m mark reached in May. June’s results yielded $2.3m in state taxes, including $56,850 for problem gambling support.
Moreover, Virginia’s sportsbooks accepted $234.9m in wagers in June, up 3.5 per cent from $227.0m in May, according to data released Friday by The Virginia Lottery. All told, sportsbooks took in $7.8m in wagers per day over the 30 days of June, up from $7.3m per day in May.
Virginia’s sportsbooks have now produced $107.0m in gross revenue since launch. But promotional credits have sapped the majority of the win, even as adjusted gross revenue has risen significantly over the last two months. All told, sportsbooks have produced $49.3m in adjusted gross revenue.
“The good news is that revenue is headed in the right direction, which ultimately benefits the state in the form of more tax revenue,” said Dann Stupp, an analyst for PlayVirginia.com. “An increase in promotional spending should be expected during football season, though. That could blunt the effects of the rising volume that will come this fall.”
FanDuel Sportsbook has so far dominated the Virginia sports betting market, according to an analysis by Legal Sports Report, PlayVirginia’s sister site. FanDuel generated $656.9m in wagering from the market’s launch on January, 21 through June, according to LSR’s estimates. That is 49.5 per cent of the $1.3bn in wagers made in Virginia over that time. FanDuel’s promotional spending was estimated at $19.6m over that time.
Rival DraftKings was second with $337.1min wagers, or 25.4 per cent of the state’s total handle. But DraftKings’ promotional spending was $10m over that time, nearly half of FanDuel’s.
“A market share of nearly half is an incredibly strong position to be in for FanDuel,” Stupp said. “Amazingly, FanDuel’s overall market share has slipped a bit since March. The question is whether rival operators can continue to erode FanDuel’s position, even if the gap is far too large for any operator to overcome.”
