Sports betting grows again in Virginia

Sports betting volume has grown for the first time in three months in the US state of Virginia, while gross gaming revenue remained strong thanks in part to betting on sports such as golf and tennis.

The June jump helped push total gross gaming revenue past $100m since the market launched, another impressive milestone for the state, according to PlayVirginia, which tracks the state’s gaming market.

“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, 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.”

Virginia’s sportsbooks accepted $234.9mi in wagers in June, up 3.5 per cent from $227m in May, according to data released on 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.