Virginians bet $7.68B on sports in 2025, up 10.9%

“In 2025, Virginians wagered enough to circle the commonwealth thousands of times over,” BetVirginia analyst Jim Tomlin said in a statement. “Nearly $7.7 billion in bets shows sports betting here isn’t a side activity anymore; it’s a major lane in the state’s economy.”

The 27.4% rise in revenue tells “a clear story,” Tomlin added. “The market isn’t just getting bigger;, it’s getting more profitable for operators and state coffers.”

The state lottery announced Friday that Virginians bet $710 million in December 2025 alone — including $705 million on mobile betting apps and $5.6 million in casinos — and bettors won a total of $627 million last month.

Just for online sports betting, December 2025 wagering was down more than $24 million from December 2024, according to BetVirginia.

Numbers last month were also down from November 2025, when Virginians bet $798 million on apps and at casinos, compared with $710 million in December 2025, an 11% decrease.

“After a November packed with football weekends and rivalry games, December hit the brakes,” Tomlin said. “The dip wasn’t about fading interest; it was about fewer marquee moments on the Virginia sports calendar, especially with the Washington Commanders out of playoff contention.”

Virginia has taxes of 15% on sports betting, based on each permit holder’s adjusted gross revenue (AGR), defined as total wagers minus total winning and other authorized deductions. In December 2025, the AGR was $79.2 million, producing $11.9 million in taxes.

Under state law, 97.5% of the total taxes go to the state’s general fund, and the other 2.5% goes to the state’s Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund.