Virginia Sports Betting – How and Where to Bet on Sports in VA

Sports bettors secured their first big win in the Commonwealth of Virginia in 2020 when a bill was passed to legalize sports betting. We are now in the third full year of legal sports betting in the state, and there is no shortage of online sportsbooks for Virginians to join. 

But some of the licensed operators in the state may have limited gaming options if you are a fan of niche sports and leagues from global markets. If you want to bet on a South Korean volleyball match, you should be able to do that in 2023.

Fortunately, we have a guide complete with the best offshore sportsbooks that will accept Virginia users today. We look at how to join these sports betting sites, what makes them worthwhile and the types of bets and markets you can expect to find on them.

Our Highest-Rated Sportsbooks for Virginia

Best Sites in Virginia for Sports Betting

At Bookmakers Review, we grade each of the potential sportsbooks using a strict set of criteria that should lead to the best gambling experience possible. From our grades, we have come up with a top 10 list of the best sports betting sites that will accept users from Virginia to win real money today.

1. Bookmaker.eu: Most reputable sportsbook
2. Heritage Sports: Great for cashback
3. Bovada: Best site for prop bets in VA
4. BetOnline: Opinionated lines and fast payouts
5. BetAnySports: Reduced juice on most major sports leagues and competitive odds
6. BetUS: Get expert analysis 
7. WagerWeb: Best crypto bonuses for new users
8. JustBet: Great reward program
9. Everygame: Wide variety of betting markets
10. SportsBetting.ag: Unique sports promos 

Is sports betting legal in Virginia?

Yes, sports bettors have been able to enjoy legal sports betting since it launched in the state in 2021 after being approved in 2020. The legal status was allowed to change after PASPA was overturned in 2018. Virginia has passed sports betting for online sportsbooks and at brick-and-mortar sportsbooks found at a casino like Rivers Casino Portsmouth. 

Comparing the Top Virginia Sportsbooks

Do not just take our list at face value. We have provided 10 in-depth reviews, including pros and cons, for each of the top sportsbooks in our list for Virginia users. All 10 sportsbooks are located in Costa Rica, Panama, or Antigua where online gambling is legal. You can expect full-service sports betting on professional leagues and collegiate games at these sites, competitive game lines, and plenty of prop betting opportunities as well. 

1. Bookmaker: Most Reputable Sportsbook

If Virginia sports bettors want the most trusted name in the business, they must check out Bookmaker.eu from Costa Rica. Since 1996, this site has built a reputation for providing the earliest betting lines, making it a favorite for sharp bettors and anyone seeking value as the general public is what really shifts a line before game time.

In addition to the early game lines, you get a highly functional, neatly organized site with a wide variety of betting markets, including props, and live betting possibilities from around the world in both popular leagues and niche sports. 

Bookmaker also offers some casino games and a strong racebook to make it an all-around great online gambling experience whether you are just starting out or have experience with these sites. The best thing is winning players will not be limited at Bookmaker.

New users are automatically enrolled into the Gold tier of the Rewards Program, which is one of the best on our list. The more you bet at Bookmaker, the more points you accumulate in the loyalty program, and you could reach the third tier (Diamond tier) for the best perks like a deposit bonus worth up to $2,500.

2. Heritage Sports: Great for Cashback

Since 2001, Heritage Sports is another A+ graded online sportsbook from Costa Rica. It has a very good mobile site for live betting as it is easy to find the live markets and place your bets. You also get some of the best reduced juice (-108 odds) for a wide variety of markets. There is no picking between reduced juice and cashback at Heritage Sports; you get both. You can get cashback daily, weekly, or quarterly depending on which programs you take part in. The sportsbook can give you cashback on your overall betting volume each quarter. Users making at least 500 bets in a quarter can get 0.8% cashback (maximum amount of bonus is $10,000).

The bonus funds at Heritage Sports have some of the lowest rollover requirements and the funds can be used anywhere on the site with no restrictions. Use them on the sportsbook, racebook, casino, esports, etc.

Heritage Sports may not get as many early betting lines as Bookmaker, but they do post some for popular markets like MLB (night before) and NFL (Sunday night a week in advance). Soccer fans can also enjoy reduced juice for Premiere League lines.

The welcome bonus at Heritage Sports is not as big as competitors, but the cashback programs make up for that. They also have fun perks like getting a free parlay (worth $500) for your birthday or getting every eighth deposit for free. 

3. Bovada: Best Prop Builder

Bovada is a great choice for Virginia users who have never bet with an online sportsbook before. You get a wide variety of leagues from around the world, the best prop builder around, plenty of live betting choices and the welcome bonuses are huge (especially if you use crypto to deposit).

The props really do stand out as you can select from a wide variety of markets for popular leagues like the NBA and NFL and easily build parlays and same-game parlays. Bovada has competitive odds, a well-designed racebook, and it is home to some of the best online poker tournaments, a major bonus to sports bettors in Virginia who are also seeking a site to get their poker fix online. 

The only real knock we have on Bovada is the ongoing promos for returning users are lacking compared to the rivals. Just not as many deposit bonuses or risk-free bet opportunities. However, Bovada has a rewards program that accumulates points the more you bet, and the nicest part is your points never expire no matter how long you have been a member. Many sites will deduct points away for inactivity, but you can build your points at Bovada for years and redeem them for things like bonus bets or entries into poker tournaments. 

4. BetOnline: Opinionated Lines and Fast Payouts

BetOnline is a very solid online gambling site that also has poker tournaments similar to Bovada. But for the sports bettors, you will get access to opinionated lines not found elsewhere, and those can be used in parlays to give you unique betting possibilities not available at any other sportsbook.

You can also get reduced juice on NHL markets, so hockey fans will be happy about that. There is live betting on a functional mobile site, and you can bet on a wide variety of leagues from around the world. 

BetOnline is also known for offering fun sports contests and a lot of interesting promos in the sportsbook when it comes to insurance bets. Even if your bet loses, you can still get some money back if certain whacky things happen like your team gets shut out, your NBA team blows a 15-point lead after halftime, or if there is a draw in a UFC fight. You also can try out horse racing and get your first bet risk-free up to $25 on BetOnline.

Virginia bettors will enjoy the high limits, fast payouts, and plenty of deposit methods offered at BetOnline. The welcome bonus is also very generous to get you started. 

5. BetAnySports: Reduced Juice and Competitive Odds

New users at BetAnySports may be confused at first when they see a variety of sports lines, including American Lines, Offshore Lines, Super Lines, and Ultimate Lines. But once you get a hang of the layout, you will know where to find the best live betting markets and where to get the best reduced juice (-105 lines).

Be careful in figuring out the difference in those lines as you could end up getting the same bet for -110 that you could find at -105 on another section of the site. But beyond getting used to that, you will find this is a very good sportsbook with a lot of pre-game and live betting choices for leagues around the world.

The prop builder is also up there among the best on our list. You just have to choose the “Player Props” section, and from there, you can easily build a same-game parlay with a mixture of game markets and player props. 

BetAnySports also has a good racebook, a variety of casino games, and a whole section dedicated to lottery drawings. If you can get past the site design, you will enjoy your time using it as one of your top online sportsbooks. 

6. BetUS: Get Expert Analysis

BetUS is one of the oldest sportsbooks on our list, so you can count on this company to know how to take care of its users. For new users, you can enjoy one of the more intriguing welcome bonuses when you make an initial crypto deposit. You will receive a 150% sports bonus of up to $3,750 in bonus bets and a 50% casino bonus of up to $1,250 in bonus bets. There are high rollover requirements for these bonuses (15x on sports, 30x on casino). You cannot cash out more than $5,000 in winnings, and keep in mind those bonus funds expire after 14 days. But this is a generous and unique promo to get you started betting and playing the great casino at BetUS.

Original content is the other area where BetUS separates itself from the competition. BetUS TV is a YouTube channel with original shows, giving you expert analysis and picks for just about any sport you can think of. This is a nice touch.

You might think our ranking for BetUS would be a little higher given these features, but we think the prop builder could use some work and those are very high rollover requirements on the bonus money. Still, for an all-around solid online gambling experience, it is hard to beat what BetUS has to offer. 

7. WagerWeb: Best Crypto Bonuses for New Users

WagerWeb does a lot of things similar to Heritage Sports, one of our top choices for Virginia sports bettors. WagerWeb has quality live betting, a respectable amount of esports coverage, and some good cashback programs. 

But WagerWeb works best for users who like to use crypto as their main method of payment. If you use Bitcoin or MoneyGram to make your deposit, you get the best welcome bonus the site has to offer. But not everyone uses those options.

WagerWeb also promises to offer true parlay odds, which is a good thing to see as some sportsbooks really water down your parlays with a final number nowhere close to true odds. 

8. JustBet: Great Reward Program

JustBet has been around for a decade as the sister site to Bookmaker.eu, which we ranked as the No. 1 online sportsbook for Virginia players. Similar to Bookmaker, you can expect to see the earliest lines in sports betting, providing great value for sharps and anyone looking to get the best number before the market shifts.

You also get a fine racebook, some decent casino games, and high limits. The reward program is also set up just like Bookmaker’s with a three-tier system where the top tier gets the best cash back and deposit bonuses. 

If we have to rank JustBet this much lower than Bookmaker, it would just be due to not offering anything new that Bookmaker lacks like a poker room or more casino games. We also prefer the user interface and mobile site found at Bookmaker.

9. Everygame: Wide Variety of Betting Markets

Everygame is from Antigua, and it used to be known as Intertops before the site did a rebranding and redesign to celebrate 25 years in the industry.

The redesign has been good because now you can do live betting at Everygame and with just about every game you could hope to find. You can also bet on niche markets like the South African Powerball drawing.

The site also has poker software to play tournaments and a wide array of casino games with demo versions. But Everygame lacks a separate racebook section. You can do plenty with this online site, but hardcore sports bettors may find our higher-ranked options more attractive to use.

10. SportsBetting.ag: Unique Sports Promos

SportsBetting.ag would rank up there with BetOnline for the least original name on our list. But they are sister sites of one another, so that may be the design. The good news is like with BetOnline, you get fast payouts, high limits, and plenty of payment methods using SportsBetting.

You also get access to those unique sports contests, bad beats insurance, bad beat jackpots on poker, and a quality racebook to go along with the varied sports betting opportunities.

But also like BetOnline, we think the prop builder could use a boost to match the top rivals, and while the casino game selection is huge, it lacks free-to-try versions of its games. 

Our Rating Methodology

We will get into our rating methodology in more detail below, but we believe a quality online sports betting site will have a wide range of betting markets, banking methods, promos, and ways to contact customer service. These sports betting operators are judged by these criteria and more when we come up with our grades to find the best of the best in this crowded online sports betting market. 

Sportsbook	Rating	Online Since	Payment Methods	Read Review
Bookmaker	A+	1996	Credit Card, Bitcoin, P2P, Crypto	Bookmaker Review
Heritage Sports	A+	2001	Credit Card, Bitcoin, Cashiers Check, Bank Transfer, P2P	Heritage Sports Review
Bovada	A+	2011	Credit Card, Bitcoin	Bovada Review
BetOnline	A+	2001	Credit Card, Bitcoin, Crypto, Cashiers Check, Bank Transfer, P2P	BetOnline Review
BetAnySports	A+	2002	Credit Card, Bitcoin, Electronic Check	BetAnySports Review
BetUS	A	2000	Credit Card, Bitcoin, Bank Transfer, P2P	BetUS Review
WagerWeb	A	1994	Credit Card, Bitcoin, Cashiers Check, Bank Transfer, P2P	WagerWeb Review
JustBet	A	2000	Credit Card, Bitcoin, P2P, Crypto	JustBet Review
Everygame	A	1996	Credit Card, Bitcoin, Skrill, Neteller, Bank Transfer, P2P	Everygame Review
SportsBetting	A	2002	Credit Card, Bitcoin, Crypto, Cashiers Check, Bank Transfer, P2P	SportsBetting Review

History of Gambling in Virginia

The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, otherwise known as PASPA, was passed in 1992 and made sports betting illegal in most areas of the country outside of Nevada. But after years in court, PASPA was finally overturned in 2018, paving the way for states to take back the right to choose to legalize sports betting.

Virginia was already on the cutting edge of legislation for legal sports betting. In 2016, Virginia became the first state to sign a law to regulate daily fantasy sports (DFS).

But it was in 2020 when Virginia was able to pass its bill, signed into law by Gov. Ralph Northam, to legalize sports betting for both in-person wagers and online wagering. Retail sportsbooks would have to apply for a license and pay a licensing fee to operate in the state. Many of the most popular ones signed up, and by January 2021, online sports wagering was live and operational in the state. 

Virginia’s sports betting industry has been dominated by online wagering, but the retail locations are starting to add up for in-person betting. Rivers Casino Portsmouth opened in January 2023 and has BetRivers as a retail sportsbook location. Three more casinos will open in the coming years in the cities of Bristol, Danville, and Norfolk, and you can expect more in-person sports betting to be done there.

Gambling History Timeline in Virginia

The following timeline shows the key moments throughout the sports betting legalization process in Virginia:

• January 2023: Rivers Casino Portsmouth opens as Virginia’s first full casino, including BetRivers as a retail sportsbook for in-person betting.   
• January 2021: Once they acquired their sports betting licenses from the state, many of the top retail sportsbooks (FanDuel Sports, DraftKings Sportsbook, Caesars Sportsbook, BetMGM Sports, etc.) open live operations in Virginia. 
• November 2020: Voters in the cities of Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, and Portsmouth all approve the creation of retail casinos. Some of these commercial casinos may not be ready until 2024 or 2025 at the latest. 
• 2020: Virginia passes a sports betting law that is signed by Gov. Ralph Northam, bringing legal sports betting to the state for both online and in-person sports betting platforms. 
• 2018: The Supreme Court rules PASPA as being unconstitutional, which gives each state the freedom to choose to legalize sports betting.  
• 2016: Virginia is the first state in the country to formally legalize daily fantasy sports (DFS), a big move for legitimizing DraftKings and FanDuel as licensed operators.  

Who regulates sports betting in Virginia?

The Virginia Lottery is in charge of regulating both the sports betting industry and the land-based casinos in the state. Whether it is a physical sportsbook or a member of the online sports betting market, they must apply for a three-year license to be a sports wagering licensee in the state. 

Operational sportsbooks in the state are subject to auditing and compliance from the state lottery to make sure they are offering a fair product to the bettors. 

What to Look for in a Sportsbook

Our next sections will show you what to look for in a sportsbook as we dig into why these key features are part of our grading system to find the best online sportsbooks. 

Competitive Betting Odds

Sites with the best odds are likely going to keep users coming back to that one. We look for those who offer reduced juice, which is when you get game lines of -105 or -108 instead of the standard line of -110. It is a good practice to have an account with multiple sportsbooks, so you can do price shopping and make sure you are getting your bet at the best price. 

Availability of Various Betting Markets & Options

This is another huge deal as users will want to have the most sports and leagues possible to bet on, or else they will have to go elsewhere to find what they are looking for. The top sports betting operators do a very good job of offering a wide variety of sports and major sports leagues from around the world.

The types of bets are also very important. Beyond just moneyline, spread, and totals, we want to see a good mixture of prop bets (player props, game props), same-game parlay options, and futures bets on markets to be determined down the road like award winners or who will win the championship at the end of the season. 

Wide Variety of Banking Methods

Getting money into your account and collecting your sports betting winnings in a timely fashion is crucial. We look for the sportsbooks that offer traditional banking methods, including credit cards and bank transfers, and the ones that have newer options like eWallets and cryptocurrency. You should be able to deposit funds while paying minimal fees too, so we make note of the fees and processing time for each of the deposit methods and withdrawal options.

Promotions & Bonuses

Bonuses are an incredible way to get started with an online sportsbook. You could make a deposit, and that initial amount is going to trigger an automatic deposit match bonus that will give you bonus bets back, usually up to 100% or more of your initial deposit.

That is great, but the best online sports betting platforms will continue offering promos as you keep playing, including risk-free bets, reload bonuses, odds boosts, and a good reward program.

Live Betting Available

Now that the majority of sports bets are made on a mobile device, the importance and frequency of live betting are only increasing. This is why we find it very important for a good mobile site to have live betting markets that can handle high traffic during popular games. The more live betting options, including props, the better for the grade. 

Quality of the Site’s User Interface

A good user interface is key as it will allow users to quickly deposit money, build up their bet slips, and place their wagers. You also should be able to navigate between the different sections of the site with ease. Some interfaces are tough to build parlays with. A neatly organized site really pays off for a quality gambling experience. 

Mobile Functionality & Quality

These offshore sportsbooks lack a downloadable app. But they have mobile sportsbooks that are optimized to run well on your favorite mobile device. That should allow you to do mobile betting, especially if you choose to add the site to your home screen for quicker access similar to an app. But one of the main things is having a site that can run lag-free during live betting markets because often getting those bets in before the next play is crucial to avoid the odds changing dramatically on you. 

Customer Service Options

Was there a stat correction in a player prop that you want to dispute? Did a player not actually play in a game and their prop should have been voided? Do you just need help with a promotion code? There are many things in a sportsbook that could lead to users seeking help, so a 24/7 customer service team with a variety of contact methods (email, message, phone, live chat) is very important to have in place.

Site’s Security & Safety Features

When trying to win real money on a gambling site, you will have to share personal details with the site such as your name, address, and financial info. It is extra important that these sites are securing our connections, encrypting our data, and not allowing our data to fall into the wrong hands on the internet. This is why we pick sites with a long history of serving customers in the online gambling industry. We feel more safe using these sites than a new one without a proven track record. 

Virginia Teams to Bet on

Virginia lacks any professional sports teams in the major leagues, but there is still a range of sports and betting types you can bet on with online sportsbooks. 

NFL Betting

The state of Virginia lacks an NFL team, but you can bet on many things like a player’s over/under in passing yards, who will score a touchdown, which team will have more first downs, how many field goals each team will make in a game, and futures bet on MVP winners and the next Super Bowl champion. Try a Same-Game Parlay to really test your football skills.

NBA Betting

Virginia does not have an NBA team, but it has many basketball bets with player prop markets for points, rebounds, assists, made threes, and defensive stats. You also have your usual choices of moneyline, spread, total, and margin of victory bets. You also could bet on who will score the first basket in a game and do a parlay or round robin with them.

MLB Betting

There are no MLB teams in Virginia, but there are many baseball bets every day during the season, including Same-Game Parlays, who will record a hit, who will hit a home run, over/under on strikeouts for the starting pitchers, and much more. You could even bet on the over/under for total runs in each inning of the game. 

NHL Betting

Virginia does not have an NHL team even though the Washington Capitals have a practice facility in the state. But NHL betting markets exist for player props (shots on goal, goal scorers, over/under total points, saves for goalies, etc.) and plenty of team scoring props like which will be the highest-scoring period or if the game will go to overtime. 

College Sports Teams

When using a licensed sportsbook in the state, you cannot bet on college teams from Virginia or any college games played in the state of Virginia. But on an offshore sportsbook, feel free to do as much college sports betting as you want.

These are the NCAA Division I teams in the state of Virginia: 

• George Mason
• Hampton
• James Madison
• Liberty
• Longwood
• Norfolk State
• Old Dominion
• Radford
• Richmond
• Virginia
• Virginia Commonwealth
• Virginia Tech
• VMI
• William & Mary

Other Sports

Beyond the popular sports and leagues, offshore sports betting sites will also have plenty of niche sports and international markets to bet on. Here is a long list of what you can expect:

• Aussie Rules
• Boxing
• Cricket
• Cycling
• Darts
• Esports
• Golf
• Handball
• Horse racing
• MMA (UFC)
• Motor racing
• Rugby
• Snooker
• Soccer
• Table Tennis
• Tennis
• Volleyball

Best Promotional Offers in Virginia

Anyone saying they are not interested in promotional offers at online sportsbooks is either lying or not taking advantage of what the sites have to offer. These can be the main reason someone joins a particular site. The following sections look at some of the types of promos you can expect to get on online sportsbooks in Virginia: 

Welcome Bonus

The welcome bonus is the largest bonus you will likely ever get from an online sportsbook. The way it usually works is you make an initial deposit, and 100% (or more) of that total is matched in bonus bets, which must be wagered many times over to fulfill the rollover requirement before they can be withdrawn as real cash. Sometimes you can get a bonus on your second and third deposits as well, and some sites like Bovada and WagerWeb offer bigger bonuses for using crypto as your deposit method. 

Keep in mind the bonus bets you receive have an expiration date, which is usually around 14 days after you receive them. There may be restrictions on where you can use them on the site. Always read the full terms and conditions of any welcome bonus offer being accepting it. 

Risk-Free Bets

A risk-free bet can be offered periodically on a sportsbook. You may be able to bet $10 or $25 on a certain market, and if your bet loses, you will get your stake back in the form of bet credits or a bonus bet, which must be used on the sportsbook and is not withdrawable for cash. 

Sometimes you can get a risk-free bet just by joining a site and placing your first wager like a live betting wager or a horse racing wager. 

Deposit Match

We already touched on a deposit match in the welcome bonus. A reload bonus is also very similar as you get a percentage of your deposit matched when you reload your account with cash. But the deposit matches for existing users are usually not 100% or higher like they are for welcome offers, but sometimes they are. Always be on the lookout for them being offered and take advantage as it is free bonus bets for money you were likely going to deposit soon anyway. 

Referral Bonuses

Every online sportsbook has some sort of referral bonus. You send a friend your link to invite them to join the site, they join, they make a certain deposit amount, and then you both enjoy some bonus bets for doing this referral. You can usually do this with up to 20 friends depending on the site. 

Odds Boosts

Odds boosts can occur daily or a few times a week at most online sportsbooks. What they will do is select a specific market and give you a boost for a much better price. So, maybe a -150 bet becomes a +120 bet for that pick. Keep in mind these odds boosts are almost always only eligible to be played as singles (no parlays), can only be bet on once per account, and with a hard limit like $50. But if you already liked the bet they are boosting, then it is a no-brainer to play it at a better price.

Parlay Insurance

Some sites will offer parlay insurance bets. This will be when you place a 5-leg parlay and only one leg is wrong. If that happens, then you can receive your stake back up to a certain amount (usually $25). This is a good bet for those who like game parlays and are very good at coming up one leg short. 

VIP & Loyalty Programs

Just about every online sportsbook has a VIP program, otherwise known as a loyalty or reward program. Basically, the more you bet in money on the site, the more points you accumulate. With those points, you can purchase things like bonus bets, profit boosts, or other perks. Maybe a loyalty program also has good reload bonuses like the ones at Bookmaker and JustBet. 

These programs are a no-brainer to join for those who like to use one site often when doing their sports betting. 

How to Sign Up With a Sportsbook

The sign-up process for an online sportsbook is very simple no matter which site you choose to join. We walk you through the general steps below. 

Step 1. Create Your Sportsbook Account

Go to the site you want to join and begin the sign-up process. You should try to use a password that is unique and not something you will use on any other site. Never share your password with anyone either. 

Step 2. Verify Your Details

Accounts must be verified before completed into the system, but this takes little time too. Simply provide accurate details to the site, including your full name, address, email, and phone number. You may need to confirm a text code or email link to verify your account, so be sure to enter accurate information. 

Step 3. Deposit Funds

You must deposit funds into your account before you can use it. But first, you should always read about the sign-up bonus as that will be related to the amount of your initial deposit. Be sure to read all those terms and conditions. When you are ready, head to the deposit section and place that first deposit using the deposit method that works best for you. 

Step 4. Place Your Chosen Wagers

You are now logged into your account which is verified and funded with cash. You are ready to start betting on the sportsbook. Find the markets you want to bet on and start placing your bets. Remember to have fun and do not bet more than you can afford to lose. 

Virginia Sports Betting – Conclusion

Sports betting is in good shape in the Old Dominion State. You have a wide selection of licensed operators to bet with, a good number of offshore sportsbooks where you can also play those favorite casino games on your mobile device, and the retail locations for in-person sports betting will grow when more casinos are opened soon.

Virginia Betting Guides

• Sports Betting Apps
• Gambling Sites
• Horse Racing
• Online Poker
• Online Casinos
• Online Lottery
• Online Casino Apps

FAQs – How Online Sports Betting Works in Virginia