The first sportsbook in Virginia remains the reigning champion as the market leader for sports betting in the state.
However, other VA sportsbooks are beginning to reduce the lead held by FanDuel Sportsbook.
Furthermore, the market can expect the arrival of two new sportsbooks in the next two months: SI Sportsbook by 888 and Betway from Digital Gaming.
During the January 12th VA Lottery Board meeting held on Wednesday, an update was provided by Virginia Lottery officials regarding the soon-to-be one-year-old VA sports betting market.
FanDuel a dominant Virginia market leader
By the month’s end, the complete revenue figures for Virginia’s sports betting in December will be available. Unless there is a significant decrease in betting activity, Virginia is expected to reach a total of $3 billion in wagers for the year 2021.
However, officials only had data up until November for Wednesday’s meeting. It should be noted that Virginia’s sports-betting operators started their operations in late January 2021. Therefore, the figures provided in the meeting represent approximately 10 months of sports wagering activity.
Despite being the initial market leader in Virginia since its launch on Jan. 21, FanDuel’s dominance has gradually declined throughout the year. Although it has maintained a significant lead in the Virginia market, the percentage of bets it has captured has decreased from 53% in March to 42.7% in November.
From January 21 to November 30, 2021, we present a comprehensive analysis of Virginia sportsbooks along with their respective market shares.
| Handle | Nov 2021 | Sep 2021 | Jun 2021 | Mar 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FanDuel Sportsbook | $1,193,268,555 | 42.7% | 45.4% | 49.5% | 53.0% |
| DraftKings Sportsbook | $748,273,582 | 26.8% | 26.1% | 25.4% | 24.0% |
| BetMGM Sportsbook | $498,103,669 | 17.8% | 17.9% | 16.4% | 14.0% |
| Caesars Sportsbook | $235,914,420 | 8.4% | 7.6% | 7.1% | 8.0% |
| Barstool Sportsbook | $55,903,891 | 2.0% | 1.0% | n/a | n/a |
| BetRivers Sportsbook | $31,585,698 | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.0% |
| WynnBet Sportsbook | $20,404,920 | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.0% |
| Unibet Sportsbook | $11,180,778 | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.3% | n/a |
| Golden Nugget Sportsbook | $838,558 | 0.03% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Bally Bet Sportsbook | n/a* | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| PointsBet Sportsbook | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Launched on November 24th, but the betting volume is insufficient to be recorded.
What are the reasons for the decline of the FanDuel lead by 10 points over the course of the year? There are certain explanations that seem quite evident.
Barstool, Caesars gain ground on FanDuel VA
FanDuel faced a few competitors during the initial months of sports betting in Virginia. However, in 2021, the number of operators increased significantly as new licenses were granted and sports-betting operations were launched.
As of January 31, 2021, Virginia only had five sportsbooks. However, the number has now increased to 11, and there are at least two more expected to be added soon (further details below).
FanDuel, as per VA Lottery officials, has surpassed all other VA sportsbooks in terms of promotional spending, with a total payout of $35.5 million until November. However, despite this significant expenditure, FanDuel’s market share declined from 45.4% in September to 42.7% in November.
Even with a lower expenditure of $23 million on promotions, DraftKings managed to increase its market share from 26.1% in September to 26.8% in November, securing the second position.
During 2021, Barstool Sportsbook, ranking fifth, boosted its market share from 1% to 2% with a promotional expenditure of $2.2 million. Likewise, Caesars, holding the fourth position, increased its market share from 7.6% to 8.4% by investing $14.9 million in promotions.
On the other hand, BetMGM, securing the third position, invested a significant amount of $24.4 million in promotional activities in 2021. However, during the period from September to November, its market share experienced a slight decline from 17.9% to 17.8%.
SI Sportsbook, BetWay next to challenge Virginia market leader
VA Lottery Deputy Director of Gaming Compliance Gina Smith has announced that SI Sportsbook and Betway are set to be the upcoming sportsbooks to debut in Virginia.
Smith confirmed that both operators have been granted permits and are expected to start accepting wagers by the end of March. This will bring the total number of sportsbooks in Old Dominion to twelve and thirteen, respectively.
Here’s the full list:
| Sportsbook | Permit approval date | Launch date |
|---|---|---|
| FanDuel | 1/20/2021 | 1/21/2021 |
| DraftKings | 1/24/2021 | 1/24/2021 |
| BetMGM | 1/24/2021 | 1/27/2021 |
| BetRivers | 1/26/2021 | 1/27/2021 |
| Caesars (formerly William Hill) | 1/27/2021 | 2/2/2021 |
| WynnBET | 3/4/2021 | 3/11/2021 |
| Unibet | 4/21/2021 | 4/28/2021 |
| Barstool | 3/15/2021 | 8/10/2021 |
| Golden Nugget | 3/15/2021 | 10/13/2021 |
| Bally Bet | 3/15/2021 | 11/24/2021 |
| PointsBet | 11/22/2021 | 12/15/2021 |
| Hard Rock | 3/31/2022 | 3/31/2022 |
| Betway | 11/24/2021 | Q2 2022 |
| SI Sportsbook | 11/25/2021 | Q2 2022 |
Smith stated that the VA Lottery is presently evaluating three additional potential operators, but she refrained from revealing the identities of the applicants, who are yet to obtain sports-betting permits.
Sportsbooks that have obtained approval will be able to launch by Q2 of 2022.
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