Author:
Gage Bridgford
Last Updated on:
04/11/2021
Table of Content
- Who is this article suitable for – who can use this Virginia sports betting guide to their advantage?
- The legal history of sports betting in Virginia – how did Virginia sports betting get where it is today?
- Editor’s recommendation – we reveal our highest-rated Virginia sports betting operator
- Five tips for a secure and fair gambling experience in Virginia – staying safe when you start legal sports betting in Virginia
- What do we look for when evaluating operators for Virginia residents?
- Finding the right operator for you – use TheGruelingTruth.com to do the legwork for you
- Conclusion – by using this guide, finding the right Virginia sports betting operator should be a piece of cake
- Virginia sports betting FAQ
Who is this article suitable for – who can use this Virginia sports betting guide to their advantage?
The short answer to that is everyone. To go into more detail, those that are looking to open their first account will find everything they read in this guide vital to making the best decision possible, and those with a bit more experience will find the same information very useful when it comes to finding a new home for their legal sports betting in Virginia.
This guide will give you some useful tools to use in searching out for the U.S betting sites with the best bonus, and at the same time we will give you some tips to help keep you safe while you do this. Overall, this guide can help anyone wherever they may be on their Virginia sports betting journey, so make sure you read every word of this guide.
The legal history of sports betting in Virginia – how did Virginia sports betting get where it is today?
While not quite as dramatic as the sports betting New Jersey history, the gambling history of Virginia is an interesting one, but with very fewer significant events, featuring either changing legislation, or failed attempts at regulation. All of these are quite recent and started with legal charitable gambling in 1973; and, apart from various attempts to legitimize the river boat casinos that crossed over into Maryland, things remained quiet until the late 1980s.
At this point, the Virginia state lottery was approved, along with horse racing a year later in 1989. Charitable gambling saw further progression in 1995, and Colonial Downs was established as the sole Virginia racetrack in 1997, but for the purposes of this guide the significant event is the introduction of EZ betting booths in 2005.
This was the only form of remote betting until 2019 when online sports gambling was legalized, with a limited number of licenses made available the following year. This means that as an emerging state, operators are keen to attract what is a very large pool of motivated but inexperienced bettors.
Editor’s recommendation – we reveal our highest-rated Virginia sports betting operator
When looking for the best Virginia sports betting operator, there are a number of things to take into account. Clearly the first thing anyone notices about an operator is the bonus they get if they join, so that would have to be on point.
Also, you are going to want an operator that you can trust, especially in a state like Virginia where online sports betting is still in its infancy. This will mean that you may go to one of the bigger names that is established already in states where gambling has a longer pedigree, like New Jersey, but is also versatile enough to offer bespoke services in states where regulation might be different. Ideally, this operator will also be part of a bigger empire, and as such able to offer extra bonuses to loyal customers.
This is quite a wish list, and while Virginia Unibet was a strong contender, BetMGM is the standout one for us. The up to $1000 risk free bet is a generous bonus without too much small print, and it operates in a dozen states, many of which have different services available according to the local legislation.
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Five tips for a secure and fair gambling experience in Virginia – staying safe when you start legal sports betting in Virginia
As you already know, legal sports betting in Virginia is still very new, and as such, those experienced when it comes to online sports betting have probably arrived from out of state and might have played the best sports betting Pennsylvania has to offer. This means that opening your first account will be a learning experience for nearly everybody except those lucky few. With this in mind, we’ve put together a list of things to look out for when you’re opening an account:
What do we look for when evaluating operators for Virginia residents?
So, we’ve established that Virginia won’t have too many experienced online sports betting experts, but that’s OK because you can borrow ours. We carry out ratings and reviews for all of the operators you are likely to come across, all according to standard criteria which we apply across the board.
Checking operators out for you
This starts by looking in depth at the bonus. It’s designed to attract you with a large bounty, but we look further than the big numbers to see what the wagering requirements are and report back if they are the real deal or if you are likely to spend a week or so just giving the operator their money back as well as most of yours. Once we’ve checked that out, we look at the site itself to see if it’s easy to use or if you will spend ages looking for the basic stuff like your account details or waiting for the pages to load. We also look at the mobile sports betting Virginia app to see if it will do the job when it comes to in-play betting.
We’ll also examine which options are on offer; as well as any fees or delays, and we’ll check out customer support to see if you’ll get useful answers to problems just like those. As you’ve seen already, we will check if the license is in order and we’ll look at the benefits for you if you stick around long term, in the form of VIP or loyalty schemes.
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Finding the right operator for you – use TheGruelingTruth.com to do the legwork for you
With all that you’ve seen so far, you will have realised that even though Virginia is still a new state when it comes to online sports betting, there is plenty of choice if you know where to look. This means that you are able to look for exactly what you want, rather than just accepting the first operator you see.
For instance, if you are looking for an operator who you can stay with for a while, you’ll need one with an excellent loyalty program (something that is often overlooked by many operators), or if you’ve got quite a large betting bank, then an operator with a massive upfront bonus might be a perfect fit for you.
Alternatively, if you want more than just sports betting, you might want to try a different operator like the Virginia Unibet, and see if there is a Virginia casino Unibet that operates.
Of course, you probably haven’t got time to go through each operator yourself, but you can use the reviews on this site to do the legwork for you. As you know, we review each one according to the same factors, so you should be able to compare them easily and come up with a small ‘hit list’ to take a closer look at.
Conclusion – by using this guide, finding the right Virginia sports betting operator should be a piece of cake
After reading this guide, you should have all of the information you need in order to make the best choices possible when it comes to Virginia sports betting. You have seen how we examine operators for you, and how we measure them up against each other. You’ve also seen how we used that process to come up with a recommendation for the best operator we’ve found.
If you want to make your own choice, we’ve put together a guide so you can sidestep some of the less legitimate operators you’ll come across and have a safe and fair experience. It doesn’t stop there – this site has other resources you can tap into, as well as all the Virginia sports betting news. So by coming back regularly you can really stay on top of your Virginia sports betting game.
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Virginia sports betting FAQ
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