On Jan. 25, mobile Vermont sportsbooks will celebrate two weeks of full operation in the state. DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics Sportsbooks each launched their apps on Jan. 11.
The Green Mountain State was the most recent of more than 30 states to legalize sports betting when Gov. Phil Scott signed HB 127 into law in June 2023.
State Projections For Vermont Sportsbooks
Before the launch, Vermont’s Joint Fiscal Office released projections for the state estimating that sports wagering would generate about $2 million in fiscal year 2024, and between $4.6 to $10.6 million in FY 2025 in revenue.
HB 127 also appropriated $550,000 from the Sports Wagering Enterprise Fund in FY 2024 to the state's Department of Liquor and Lottey (DLL) in anticipation of administration initial costs prior to fee revenue from Vermont sports betting apps being collected.
All appropriations from the fund are made in anticipation of receipts from sports wagering operator fees. The bill also required DLL to collect initial operator fees equal to $550,000 per operator and may be renewed in any three-year period.
The DLL has not released any official date when official monthly sports wagering numbers will be released but BetVermont.com is thinking there will be greener pastures for the state. We’re estimating $3 million for FY2024.
There are a couple of things to keep in mind when we project Vermont figures. First, the state has the second-smallest population in the nation at about 650,000, according to worldpopulationreview.com figures. So it is unreasonable to expect anywhere near the money from sports betting that Massachusetts (population 7 million), or even New Hampshire and Maine (about 1.4 million each), would get. Second, some states benefited from jumping in before their neighbors; Rhode Island had such an edge when it debuted in late 2018. Vermont is surrounded by mature sports betting markets, thus it won’t get a bump from folks coming in from other states to wager.
Find the best Vermont sports betting promo codes with us at BetVermont.com before you sign up.
First Month Numbers From Other New England States
Below are first month numbers from other New England states that launched sports betting (retail, mobile):
Maine: Before Vermont, this was the most recent state in the region to launch sports betting, getting sportsbooks up and running on Nov. 3, 2023. Maine handled more than $13.77 million in the first two weeks between its two providers: DraftKings (Passamaquoddy Tribe, $12.14M) and Caesars Sportsbook Maine (Maliseet, Mi’kmaq and Penobscot Tribes, $1.63M). Through about two months (Nov. 3 to Dec. 312) Maine collected $82.1 million in handle (amount wagered) and just over $9 million in revenue.
The Maine Black Bears are rivals with the University of Vermont in the America East Conference. Check out our Vermont men’s basketball story at BetVermont.
Massachusetts: Retail sports betting launched at three retail locations on Jan. 31, 2023, and reported a first month handle of over $25.7 million. Mobile wagering launched on March 10 and after one month more than $568.1 million was handled online. The Bay State collected nearly $5 billion in handle and more than $434 million in revenue in a bit less than a full year for 2023.
Connecticut: The Nutmeg State took in over $54.6 million in handle in its first month of wagering ($54.1M online, $541,846 retail) in October 2021 for a partial month. Retail betting at tribal casinos launched on Sept. 30, 2021, with mobile starting on Oct. 19. In the first full month, November 2021, the combined handle was $131.7 million and revenue clocked in at $12.45 million.
New Hampshire: The state launched on Dec. 30, 2019. In January 2020, as the market started to mature, the state saw more than $16.8 million in handle and $1.6 million in revenue.
Rhode Island: The state became one of the first in the nation to accept legal sports bets on Nov. 26, 2018. Rhode Island generated nearly $700,000 in handle and almost $73,000 in revenue for just those few days in November. In the first full month, December 2018, the handle surpassed $13 million and the revenue almost hit $1 million.
And for more Catamounts hoops coverage, check out our Vermont women’s basketball story.
