Online sports betting could be up and running in the state of Virginia by the time the Super Bowl kicks off this year on February 7th. The state lottery said the first online sports betting licenses could be approved within a fortnight.
The Executive Director of the Virginia Lottery, Kevin Hall said this week: “If a licensee is ready to go, some of them could be up and running by the Super Bowl. That’s a good opportunity. It’s the biggest thing on the sports calendar all year, so we might be able to launch with a bang.”
Last year, the Virginia General Assembly approved the introduction of online betting from 2021. Out of 12 available licenses, the lottery received 25 applications. The lottery will regulate Virginia’s online sports betting industry.
Some of the laws pertaining to Virginia’s new online sports betting industry:
- Players need to be at least 21 years of age.
- Players need to physically located in Virginia.
- No betting on Virginia college teams.
- No betting on the Olympics.
- Pregame and in-game bets can be placed on professional sports games, but only pregame game bets on college team games.
- 15% of the revenues will be taxed.
- Some of the taxes will be used to fund problem gambling programs.
Analysts predict that around $400 million will be spent on sports betting in Virginia this year.
