Sports betting has traditionally been one of the least lucrative businesses for casinos to be in, but that hasn’t been the case so far in Virginia.
Last year in Nevada, sports bettors lost, on average, 5.46% of their money every time they placed a bet — right on pace with the industry’s historical standard.
This September in Virginia, though, sports bettors lost 13.09% of their money.
What happened?
In a word, parlays.
Sports betting has historically been a straightforward proposition. Pick a team to win or lose, and double the initial bet (or lose it).
The three leading books in Virginia, FanDuel, Draft Kings and BetMGM, which collectively control 80% of the market, instead work to steer their customers into high-risk, high-reward parlay bets.
