In the lead up to the NFL season, Virginia sports betting promo deductions reached their lowest level in 2023.
According to figures released Friday by the Virginia Lottery, two Virginia sports betting operators combined to deduct $743,000 in August bet credits.
- Bet365 launched in Virginia in January and can deduct its promotional spending through the rest of 2023.
- Betfred launched its Virginia sportsbook in February, allowing it to deduct free bets from the ledger through January 2024.
Virginia sports betting deductions
State law allows sports betting companies to deduct promotional bet credits from taxable revenue during their first year of operations.
After their first year, operators must pay full freight for free bet giveaways. Allowable deductions peaked in February at $7.8 million with Super Bowl betting on the calendar.
Betr launched its Virginia sportsbook in early September. It can deduct free bet credits from its taxable revenue through August 2024.
The state lottery only provides a breakdown of promo spending at its quarterly board meetings.
Impact on state tax revenue
The ban on promo deduction for tax purposes after an operator’s first year began in July 2022.
Before this change, the state collected $35.5 million in tax revenue over 18 months between January 2021 and June 2022.
In the 14 months between July 2022 and August 2023, Virginia has collected $79.3 million in sports betting taxes.
NFL betting is the most popular wager for US sports bettors, so September’s promotional deductions for the three newest Virginia sports betting apps are expected to increase.
VA sports betting by the numbers
Total sports betting handle reached $319 million in August, a 12% increase over the same month last year.
Virginia sportsbooks produced $27.9 million in monthly adjusted gross revenue with a 10.4% hold.
Operators have averaged hold of north of 10% from bettors for six consecutive months.
