Virginia Approves More Sportsbooks
The Virginia sports betting industry is set to grow yet again, and soon there will be 12 sportsbooks live in the state. The Virginia Lottery oversees sports betting and it recently voted to award two of the final five licenses.
This time around it was 888 and Betway that received the licenses, and it will add two more big names to the Virginia market. Both of these companies are based internationally, but have plenty of experience with United States sports betting.
Virginia will be the sixth state for Betway as it has already launched in five other states in this country. Digital Gaming Corporation is the parent company of Betway, and that is actually who the license was awarded to.
VHL, VA received the other license, and that company operates sports betting under the name 888 Sportsbook. That company is based in Gibraltar, but has had little trouble finding footing in the United States.
A launch date was not announced for either company, but launching during the 2021 NFL season would be beneficial for each sportsbook. There are now just two sportsbook licenses available after PointsBet was also awarded a license last week.
The Virginia Lottery has not made a decision on when it will be reviewing the other applications, but it could come before the end of 2021. Even though most of the top operators are already in Virginia, there is plenty of competition for the final two licenses.
10 Options Now Available
There are currently 10 online sportsbooks available in Virginia, and that number will eventually climb up to 15. The state has put up some impressive numbers of late, and two new operators have launched since the beginning of October.
Bally Bet was the latest sportsbook to go live, and Golden Nugget launched in October. All of the most recent launches are still trying to catch up to the group of five that launched back in January 2021.
BetMGM, BetRivers, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel were the first five online sportsbooks in the state. Through September, these five operators accounted for 98 percent of all wagers placed in the state of Virginia.
Casinos Still a Year Away
Even though Virginia has approved both online and retail sports betting, mobile options are the only ones still available. This is going to change at some point, but it could still be more than a year away.
Casinos are coming to five cities in Virginia, and four of those projects have already been approved. The cities of Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, and Portsmouth are now in the planning phase, with construction set to begin at the beginning of 2022.
Richmond is the fifth city in the state that can build a casino, but those projects continue to be voted down by residents. Since Richmond is the capital city of Virginia, this could be one of the top retail sports betting options if a plan is finally approved.
