Vermont Sports Betting Handle Hits New Low
April Vermont Sports Betting Handle Down 15% Month-to-Month
A disappointing March gave way to an even worse April for Vermont sportsbooks.
Operators in the Green Mountain State took in just $17 million in bets last month, down 15% from March. Those figures, reported by Vermont’s Department of Liquor and Lottery, are the lowest since the state’s January launch.
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Expert Pick: Subscribe below to get our Premium Insights!Despite the decline, Vermont’s sportsbooks ended April with $1.6 million in adjusted revenue, up from $1.3 million. That’s a result of operators keeping 10.6% of the bets they accepted.
What does it mean? Let’s take a closer look at Vermont’s sports betting handle.
Average Wager Grows
The number of Vermont bettors increased to approximately 40,000 in April, up 3,000 from the previous month. So how did Vermont’s sports betting handle fall?
It’s simple. The average wager was up from $20.35 to $23.15. This includes both straight wagers and parlay betting.
So, while the overall number of tickets declined (737,000 from 992,000), bettors put more on each individual wager. March basketball accounted for a majority of bets. Residents wagered $6.05 million on the sport in April, well ahead of both baseball ($2.97 million) and tennis ($1.69 million).
Next on the list were hockey ($634,985) and soccer ($602,570), with all other sports combining for $5.12 million in handle.
Thanks to the NBA playoffs, May will likely yield similar results. Baseball should also remain popular.
By comparison, basketball netted $11.6 million in wagers for March. Granted, that total was boosted by the NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments.
Tennis ($1.5 million) and hockey ($1.1 million) were second and third in handle, respectively. Soccer ($796,000) lagged slightly behind.
Similar to several other states, Vermont does not allow betting on in-state colleges.
High Bar Unattained
Sports betting launched in Vermont on Jan. 11, with DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics Sportsbook the state’s lone operators.
The Green Mountain State experienced immediate success, collecting approximately $20 million in bets during the first month of action. That translated to approximately $1.1 million in revenue, topping even the state’s most optimistic expectations.
“There is far more revenue earned and far more gaming than I had expected,” Wendy Knight, Vermont’s Liquor and Lottery Commissioner, said at the time.
Out-of-state players accounted for more than half of that action. There are a few possible explanations as to why Vermont’s sports betting handle was so robust.
Because Vermont was among the last states in New England to greenlight online sports betting, bettors may have traveled across state lines and into Vermont to capitalize on new promos and other enticing offers. Naturally, those opportunities have dwindled over time.
Being one of the smallest states by population and handle, Vermont likely won’t see huge numbers month-over-month. That said, recent Vermont sports betting returns have been somewhat discouraging.
It remains to be seen if Vermont can improve its totals. The summer months tend to be less prosperous for sportsbooks, with baseball dominating most of the action.
Stay tuned for more updates on the state’s sports betting results.
For scores and odds, betting analysis and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
