In September 2026, Virginia’s sportsbooks recorded a total of $729,581,723 in wagers, generating an adjusted gross revenue of $61,778,896. These figures represent a slight decline of 1.03% in handle and 4.19% in revenue compared to September 2025.

The state’s share from this was $9,242,928. Notably, a line in the report reveals a significant insight about the current state of affairs in Virginia: the eligible promotions have not seen any value throughout the year, standing at $0.00. This information is sourced from the Virginia Lottery’s monthly sports betting reports, with the September data released on October 30.

When compared to August, September shows a robust rebound in the sports betting market, with handle increasing by 37.07% from $532,277,071 and revenue climbing by 31.00% from $47,158,658. However, year-over-year comparisons with last September show a slight downturn, largely due to a margin issue rather than a decrease in betting volume. A minor drop of 0.28 points in hold across nearly $750 million in wagers translates to an approximate loss of $2 million.

Virginia’s definition of adjusted gross revenue permits operators to deduct the amounts allocated for player bonuses and promotions. However, the relevant limit is not set in the code but is defined in the Appropriation Act, which restricts the deduction to the operators’ first 12 months of operation.

This policy has been in effect since July 2022. As a result, recent reports consistently show the noncash winnings line for eligible promotions at $0.00 for both the month and the fiscal year to date, as no operator has yet hit their first anniversary. Consequently, no promotional expenditures are being deducted in the current market, meaning that any free bets offered by sportsbooks are taxed at a flat rate of 15% as if they were retained earnings.

There was an initiative to partially restore the deduction, capped at 1.75% of total wagers, which passed the Senate by a vote of 31 to 7, with one member abstaining. However, this proposal faced hurdles, being blocked twice in the House Appropriations. State officials project that a partial restoration could incur an annual cost of roughly $12.6 million.