Legal US sports betting continues to spread around the slowly, but nothing was slow about the launch of online sports betting in Virginia. The legalization process saw major developments over a few months in 2020, leading to the first sportsbooks going live in January 2021.
Anyone new to sports betting looking to wager in the state may not know what to expect from this market or what apps are worth their time. But don’t worry, you’ve come to the right place. This page will break down everything you need to know about Virginia’s top sports betting apps, how the industry works in the state and more.
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Must be 21+ to participate. T&Cs apply.
Must be 21+ to participate. T&Cs apply.
Must be 21+ to participate. T&Cs apply.
Must be 21+ to participate. T&Cs apply.
Must be 21+ to participate. T&Cs apply.
Must be 21+ to participate. T&Cs apply.
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Virginia launched its mobile sports betting market in January 2021, with the popular app FanDuel sportsbook leading the charge. Soon after, other major operators, like daily fantasy sports giants DraftKings sportsbook and BetMGM, followed. Currently, there are eight legal sports betting apps in Virginia, although retail sports betting is not yet available.
Other popular Virginia betting apps include Caesars sportsbook (in partnership with William Hill), BetRivers Virginia, PointsBet and Unibet. Signing up for and enjoying each of these apps is quick and simple. Better yet, you don’t need to visit a retail partnership casino to complete the registration process.
Since its launch, the Virginia sports betting market has led to significant revenue for the state government. For example, November 2021 saw Virginians betting nearly $2.8 billion, with revenue reaching approximately $254 million.
This revenue is partially due to Virginians’ love of sport. While Virginia doesn’t have as many professional franchises as some other states, it does have the Washington Football Team (newly named the Washington Commanders), Washington DC’s NFL franchise and only hope to win the Super Bowl.
Online betting is legal in Virginia for both mobile and retail sportsbooks. While the Supreme Court abolished PASPA in 2018, it took until 2020 for Virginia’s legislature to pass sports wagering legislation. PASPA was the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which stopped individual states, for instance Maryland and Michigan, from allowing sports betting. That finally occurred in July 2020, after two bills passed the Virginia House and Senate in April 2020. Gov. Ralph Northam made a few changes, and then both bills passed shortly after. Some other states to have made wagering on sport legal including New York,New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
For various reasons, retail sportsbooks have not been able to launch, despite being perfectly legal. That’s no problem for mobile betting fans and means it is easier for the top Virginia betting sites to get a license. That’s because online sportsbook operators are not required to partner with a retail casino or any other organization to launch in Virginia. Furthermore, up to five sports betting licenses have been reserved for retail casinos sometime in the near future.
Virginia’s sports betting market is off to a great start and could expand further. The legislation mentioned above allows for 18 mobile sports betting licenses. By the end of 2023, Virginia could be home to well over a dozen quality mobile and retail sportsbooks.
Thanks to the growth of widespread sports betting options in the state, any Virginia resident needs to know which Virginia betting apps are worth their time and money and which are not. One of the best ways to determine the ideal sports betting app for your needs is to look at its promotions and welcome betting offers.
Most mobile sportsbooks offer welcome bonuses for new account holders. If you make a new account with a sportsbook for the first time, you’ll usually get free sports betting site credit or some other attractive deal to entice you to try the sports betting app out.
Every sportsbook offers something different, but we’ve explained some of the most popular welcome bonuses you can find at the best sports betting site offerings below.
Each of these betting welcome offers from top Virginia betting sites can be valuable and attractive depending on how you like to gamble. Risk free bets, for instance, are great for newcomers to sports wagering who don’t want to lose all their cash on a first lousy bet.
Aside from welcome bonuses, most of the best sports betting site options also offer regular promotions or bonuses to keep the action exciting and get people to return again and again. Typical bonuses include:
As you can see, there’s no shortage of exciting bonuses and promotions in Virginia’s sports betting market. After choosing the best Virginia betting sites from our list, you’ll find lots of neat offers to keep your betting fun.
Many bonuses are designed to make it much easier for new sports bettors to get into the exciting world of online gambling. To that end, most promotions also come with digital coupons or codes made up of letters and numbers. You can use Virginia sports betting promo codes to redeem rewards. Top Virginia bookmakers will often change promo codes to update offers and keep the rewards feeling fresh.
However, it can often be challenging to keep track of everything. Fortunately, if you’re new to sports betting, you can check this page for all Virginia sportsbook promo codes. Just register for one of our recommended Virginia betting apps, then check here for the bonus code so you can enjoy your welcome package. Here at Bookmakers.com we’ve done all the hard work for you, and we regularly update each of the promo codes for all of Virginia’s mobile sportsbook apps.
Free bets are some of the most popular welcome betting offers because they are easy to access and let you try out a Virginia sports betting site without risking any cash. Free bets usually give you a site coupon or credit that you can use on one or more wagers with limitations on odds or categories.
If a mobile sportsbook app gives you a free bet, we recommend using it to try out an app. Every sportsbook can vary dramatically in terms of its features and interfaces. By trying out an online app before investing your own funds, you’ll better determine whether a given sportsbook is right for you.
One of the big wins for Virginia’s sports wagering legislation was legalizing mobile sports betting apps.
Virginia betting apps are phenomenal for various reasons, including giving players the ability to enjoy mobile bets from the comfort of their couches. For many, nothing beats enjoying sports wagers from their living rooms while watching the game be it NFL betting or any other major sport you love, all without having to visit a retail casino or sportsbook.
Not only that, but most mobile apps these days are highly intuitive and easy to use. You don’t need to worry about lags or delays in your wager from costing you a big payday.
If you don’t want an app taking up space on your phone, there is also the option to access top Virginia betting sites through the browser of your mobile device. Ultimately, this will be perfectly tailored to your device thanks to HTML5 technology, which means you can access your wagers anywhere you have a cellular connection.
While sports betting is fun for the thrill alone, most people place wagers to make a profit. Therefore, it’s no surprise that many of Virginia’s top sportsbook apps offer several deposit and withdrawal options. The most common Virginia betting payment methods are listed below.
Virginia bettors are fans of all kinds of sports, and the top Virginia betting sites provide an excellent range of markets to match this. You can find all the top major sports in the US with extensive betting markets available at our recommended Virginia betting sites. Not only that, but smaller sports also get the same kind of treatment.
You can even place a sports bet on international sports! Lots of sports bettors in Virginia enjoy sports played in other parts of the world and will find they can wager on these sports too. Below are the most common types of sports betting sites in Virginia:
You can bet on college sports in the state, but Virginia bettors can’t place wagers on in-state teams, such as Virginia Tech, or games, meaning any college team from Virginia and any game played in Virginia. That being said, you can still place bets on your favorite NCAA teams from outside the state as long as they don't involve the likes of Virginia Tech.
The majority of top Virginia betting apps will have very similar sign-up processes. To register for a Virginia betting site, grab one of our sportsbook betting offers above and stick to the following steps:
Retail sportsbooks will likely come to Virginia’s retail casinos once fully constructed. For the time being, online casino games are not legal in the Old Dominion State. But you’ll eventually be able to check out physical slots and other casino games at various locations.
When these locations open, you will be able to play your favorite online casino games, including slots, baccarat, blackjack, roulette and more. When online gambling launches in Virginia, you will also have the option to play these games from the comfort of your own home. You can even play live dealer games with professional dealers on a live stream to get that authentic casino floor experience.
Although sports betting can be a lot of fun, safety is also a top priority, especially when it comes to finances. Lots of widespread sports betting sites and mobile apps take steps to help players with gambling addiction, and these sites understand that it is a serious topic.
Top Virginia bookmakers often provide responsible gaming tabs or website pages, including helpful links, support channels and FAQs. Some even include self-exclusion tools that allow players to voluntarily prevent themselves from opening or depositing money into their accounts for a certain amount of time.
Responsible gaming is essential for everyone, and here are a few tips if you are struggling:
If you need further assistance to practice responsible gambling, check out these valuable Virginia resources: