Virginia casinos report $73M in September revenue

September gaming revenues for Virginia’s three casinos totaled $73.08 million, according to data the Virginia Lottery released Wednesday.

Opened in December 2024, Virginia’s newest permanent casino, the Caesars Virginia casino in Danville, reported the largest adjusted gaming revenue (wagers minus winnings) for the month: approximately $28.2 million. Of that, approximately $21 million came from its 1,467 slots, and the remaining roughly $7 million came from its 100 table games.

Rivers Casino Portsmouth, which opened as Virginia’s first permanent casino in January 2023, generated $17.64 million from its 1,422 slots and $6.65 million from its 84 table games, for a total AGR of nearly $24.3 million in September.

Last month, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol reported more than $20.58 million in AGR, with nearly $16.84 million of that coming from its 1,383 slots and about $3.75 million coming from its 73 table games. The Bristol casino’s temporary facility opened in July 2022, making it the first operating casino in Virginia. The permanent Hard Rock Bristol opened in November 2024.

September’s AGR is down almost 14% from August’s AGR of $84.8 million, but is up 29% year-over-year.

Virginia law assesses a graduated tax on a casino’s adjusted gaming revenue. For the month of September, taxes from casino AGRs totaled almost $15.78 million.

Under Virginia law, 6% of a casino operator’s AGR goes to its host locality until the operator passes $200 million in AGR for the year, at which point the host locality’s tax rate rises to 7%. If an operator passes $400 million in AGR in the calendar year, that rises to 8%.

For September, Danville received 7% of Caesars Virginia’s AGR, amounting to $1.97 million. Portsmouth received 7% of the Rivers Casino Portsmouth‘s AGR, netting $1.7 million. For the Bristol casino, 6% of its adjusted gaming revenue — more than $1.23 million last month — goes to the Regional Improvement Commission, which the General Assembly established to distribute Bristol casino tax funds throughout Southwest Virginia.

The Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund receives 0.8% of total taxes — approximately $126,234 last month. The Family and Children’s Trust Fund, which funds family violence prevention and treatment programs, receives 0.2% of the monthly total, which was approximately $31,558 in September. The remaining $10.71 million in taxes goes to the state’s Gaming Proceeds Fund.

Two more casinos are on the horizon in Virginia.

Construction began on the long-awaited $750 million Norfolk casino by development partners Boyd Gaming and the Pamunkey Indian Tribe in February. A temporary casino, dubbed The Interim Gaming Hall, is expected to open in November.

In November 2024, more than 80% of Petersburg voters approved a casino referendum. Baltimore-based The Cordish Cos. and Virginia Beach developer Bruce Smith Enterprise broke ground on the $1.4 billion casino in March.