Virginia sports betting handle declines 22% in April

Sportsbooks in Virginia declined in April, with no events like February’s Super Bowl and March’s NCAA basketball tournament to drive revenue.

The Virginia Lottery reported Friday that bettors in Virginia wagered a collective $236 million in April. That’s a 22% drop from the record $304 million wagered in March.

The seven operators combined for more than $19.4 million in gross gaming revenue, resulting in a hold of 8.22%, Sports Handle reports. The GGR total was 26.8% lower than March’s figure of nearly $26.6 million, while the adjusted gross revenue represented a 17.8% decline from the $13.8 million the state could tax the prior month.

However, the state’s sportsbooks generated more tax revenue than they have since sports betting launched in January. The tax Virginia collected increased by 40%, from $1.2 million in March to $1.7 million in April. Sportsbooks’ actual profits did not fall as much, in part because they are paying fewer bonuses to attract new customers. The $5.5 million in promotional revenue was the lowest total in any of the four months since launch and barely more than half the $10.3 million in March.