Virginia, North Carolina Top $700M For September Handle

Virginia and North Carolina both surpassed $700 million in September sports betting handle, according to reports from their respective state agencies.

The Virginia Lottery reported a year-best $729.6 million in accepted wagers, the seventh-highest total in state history since its January 2021 launch. However, it was also down 1% from 2025.

To the south, the North Carolina State Lottery Commission reported a September handle of $718.2 million. That was up 4.7% from a year ago and fourth-highest since the Tar Heel State began accepting wagers in March 2024.

All four instances of $700 million-plus handle there have occurred in the last 12 months.

Both states reported single-digit percentage declines in revenue, though operators in each market had collective holds above 9%. In Virginia, the 9.4% win rate on gross revenue marked the first time it was in single digits in three months, after a five-month run from December 2021 to April 2022. The 9.1% hold in North Carolina was the lowest since the betting public held operators to a 6.1% mark in July 2025.

North Carolina coffers saw nearly $15 million in inflows in the third month since the state raised the rate to 23% on July 1. Virginia's 15% levy on adjusted gross revenue generated $9.2 million in receipts.

Small Dips in Many Virginia Numbers

The Virginia Lottery does not disclose information by operator in its monthly releases, but taxable winnings fell 4.2% to $61.8 million from last year. VA sportsbooks reported $6.8 million in total deductions, including the 0.25% federal excise tax, loss carryovers, and voided wagers, up almost 30% from a year ago.

None of the 11 mobile sportsbooks in the Old Dominion can deduct promotional spend against gross revenue. The state's three brick-and-mortar venues had a strong month, notching a 25.7% hold while clearing just over $1 million in taxable revenue.

Virginia's fiscal-year handle, which runs from June to May, is up 14.2% from 2025-26 because the calendar year includes both months of World Cup-related handle increases. Taxable winnings, however, have lagged and are down 2.3% at $220.2 million for the first four months.

Year-to-date revenue through three quarters is nearly flat at $537.2 million, off by half a percentage point. Gross winnings are off by 1%, while the $5.59 billion handle for the first nine months of 2026 is up 4.6%.

N.C. Handle Up Despite Promo Pullback

The North Carolina State Lottery Commission also does not make individual operator information available, but collective promotional spend totaled $26.9 million. That was the year's high-water mark at 3.7% of handle, but it was down 16% from last year.

Revenue fell 2.4% to $65.2 million from the previous September, a stark contrast to strong early fiscal-year and year-to-date figures. Sportsbook winnings in the first three months of FY 2026-27 rose 23.6% to $177.4 million, and year-to-date revenue climbed 19.2% to $482 million.

Wagering in the Tar Heel State has surged 14.1% in the fiscal year to $1.75 billion. Year-to-date action is up 12% to $5.58 billion, and North Carolina's handle is currently tracking 3.5% higher than Nevada's. That reflects both the relatively quick maturity of the third-year, mid-Atlantic marketplace and the tourism downturn that has hit retail sports wagering in the Silver State.

The new North Carolina tax rate, up from the 18% set at legalization, has already added $14.4 million in receipts for the new fiscal year and contributed to a $76.1 million year-to-date increase from $162.9 million in 2025.