Virginia to Begin Accepting Applications for Sports Betting Licenses this Fall
The Virginia Lottery Board is expected to begin taking applications this October for sports betting licenses. Sports betting operators will be able to start taking bets at retail locations or online by January of 2021.
The Virginia Lottery Board saw their regulatory responsibilities expanded this year as they are no in charge of overseeing sports betting in Virginia. The rules surrounding sports betting have not been released yet.
“The General Assembly was clear in its expectations for the Lottery to build a regulatory framework around sports betting on an expedited timeline, and we are committed to adopting responsible rules of the road in a timely and transparent way,” said Lottery Executive Director Kevin Hall in a press release.
The Virginia Lottery Board will be able to offer 12 sports betting licenses to mobile operators.
Virginia Sports Betting Launch
Virginia legalized sports betting on July 1, and now the Virginia Lottery is in charge of creating regulations for the new industry on short notice. The plans are to have sports betting in Virginia live by January 2021.
The Virginia Lottery touched on some basics in their first meeting about sports betting regulations. One thing is that there will no mandatory hold on sportsbooks.
A hold in the sports betting world is when the sportsbooks hold a percentage of money for every dollar is wagered. Similar to a bank, some states make sportsbooks keep money on tap in case of emergency.
Virginia will not put that into their laws which will help the books operate more smoothly. The rules will also help out bettors as sportsbook prices will not be altered due to holding laws in Virginia.
The meeting also went over the application process, consumer protection, and more. On August 10, the Virginia Lottery will release regulations on system requirements, financial controls, and permissible wagers.
The Virginia Lottery will offer 12 sports betting licenses to online mobile betting companies. The statute permits legal betting on most major league and college sports, although the legislation prohibits explicitly wagers on games involving teams from Virginia colleges and universities.
The Lottery also announced Wednesday that it had completed its preliminary review of four proposed casino projects, which could put sportsbooks in Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth.
Potential Partnerships
With the application process underway, let’s take a look at some of the potential sports betting companies that could enter Virginia as early as January 2021. There are currently four cities that are up for review on possible sportsbooks, as of writing this.
DraftKings
DraftKings is one of the largest sports betting companies in the U.S. They are currently in nine states and looking to enter the Illinois market as soon as this year. DraftKings could expand into Virginia as they have operations in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, which is a short drive from both states.
FanDuel
FanDuel is another sportsbook that can enter into the Virginia market early. One of DraftKings competitors, FanDuel, is currently in eight states, and close to launching in Colorado. They also have operations in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, which makes entering the Virginia market that much easier.
PointsBet
PointsBet could potentially make a splash into Virginia as soon as 2021. Although PointsBet is not as well known as FanDuel and DraftKings, they have operations in four states, including New Jersey. PointsBet has some of the most competitive odds on the market, which makes them an ideal candidate to continue expansion across the U.S.
FoxBet
FoxBet has operations in only three states, as of writing this. They are in Colorado, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania as two of three states are not far from Virginia. They also have FoxCorp and Fox Sports backing their sports betting app, which gives them the capital to expand into other states.
(News Source: Lineups )
