A fulfilled Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Virginia Lottery showed FanDuel maintained its iron grip in the Old Dominion while bucking the overall trend of sportsbook operator performance in September.
The digital juggernaut accounted for nearly half of the $69.7 million in gross revenue accumulated statewide. Operators across Virginia combined for a hold of nearly 9.5%, which was down more than two percentage points from last year and contributed to a 2.5% decline on winnings.
The $737.2 million handle ranked second in state history behind the near-$761 million wagered last November and was up 18.5% from a year ago. September’s report also brought the close of the fiscal year for Virginia, with double-digit increases across the board compared to Fiscal Year 2024 in handle (14.5%), gross revenue (16.2%) and adjusted gross revenue (19.6%).
The state collected $106.7 million in tax receipts over the past 12 months, an increase of just over $18 million. There was an inflow of close to $9.7 million into state coffers for September, down $206,511 from 2024.
Another month, another double-digit hold
The Virginia Lottery does not release operator figures to the public, which means a breakdown by sport category is unavailable. But given how the NFL moves the needle when it comes to wagering in the autumn coupled with high expectations faced by the nearby Washington Commanders heading into what has been a disappointing season, it would stand to reason FanDuel fared OK for football.
FanDuel posted a 12%-plus hold for the sixth consecutive month and eighth time in 2025, landing at 12.3% in keeping $33.2 million of its $271.2 million handle. Despite a robust 12.8% win rate for the year, FanDuel’s $255.9 million in gross revenue is actually down 1.3% compared to the first 10 months of 2024.
September handle was up 17.2% compared to last year, but the nearly $2 billion worth of accepted wagers in 2025 is 5.8% lower versus 2024.
DraftKings was a very distant second in revenue at $17 million, a decline of 19.7% caused by a middling 7.5% hold. That was off 2.75 percentage points from the previous September and made the 9.8% bump in handle to $227.2 million a non-factor.
It was the fourth time in the last 12 months DraftKings had a hold below 8%, something FanDuel avoided in that stretch.
BetMGM still solid No. 3, fight for fourth continues
BetMGM continues to have plenty of space operating as Virginia’s No. 3 operator, though its run of double-digit holds ended at five months after the public limited it to an 8.3% win rate in September. That was still good for just over $6 million in winnings from $72.3 million worth of wagers.
Fanatics and bet365 provided drama as both rounded out the top five. The former placed fourth for handle at $45.4 million, but the England-based sportsbook’s 9.3% hold was two percentage points higher and allowed it to take that spot for revenue at $4.1 million.
Fanatics did finish with a 62.6% bump in revenue while handle increased almost 140%. Bet365’s revenue slipped 18.9% as its hold plunged 5.8 percentage points.
Caesars ($1.8 million), ESPN BET ($1.3 million), and Hard Rock Bet ($1.1 million) rounded out the group of mobile sportsbooks with seven-figure revenue hauls for September. Caesars had a sub-6% for the third time this year, while Hard Rock topped $1 million in revenue for the first time since last November.
ESPN BET had year-over-year declines in revenue (21.8%) and handle (10.9%) as its 8.6% win rate was off by 1.1 percentage points. The outgoing book, which will make way for theScore on Dec. 1 following PENN’s decision to part ways with the brand Thursday, has attained only 3.3% of total handle market share since entering the Old Dominion in November 2023.
