The news from the state of Virginia this week is that the state is most likely not going to keep a 10% hold on sports bets. This is good news for those in the know.
Many states rolling out sports betting are looking to cash in as much as possible as early as possible and are adding all sort of extra fees to the sports betting process. Tennessee recently just rolled out their 10% hold which means that sportsbooks will be forced to offer worse odds to make up for this tax. This will drive (or keep) serious bettors offshore or in Vegas.
The state of Virginia is looking to go live by January 2021 with its new sports betting initiative.
Virginia is one of the latest states to roll out sports betting. Operators there will need to apply for a three year license which costs $250K. Operators will already be taxed 15% of gross gaming revenue. Residents will be able to bet on both college and pro sports but cannot bet on in-state teams such as the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech.