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If current trends hold up, then Ohio sports betting is going to go bananas this whole Fall season for NFL and college football. Bananas, we say!
There are no numbers available yet for September, which marked the beginning of football season. The Ohio Casino Control and Lottery Commissions reports betting metrics with a 30-day lag so we won’t get September’s figures until early November. But we do have August stats, and things are going extremely well for the state. Let’s dig into the data, shall we?
August Betting Numbers Surge In Ohio
$549 million — that’s how much money was wagered up and down Ohio during the month of August. This is a sharp rise from the same time a year ago. In August 2023, sportsbooks reported just $380 million in bets so year over year, that’s a 45 percent jump.
The fact that the state is growing year over year isn’t that surprising. It wasn’t until January 1, 2023 that the state legalized in the U.S. so there’s still some “newness” to wagering. However, the fact that the numbers are this high — during a seasonally bad month — is what’s surprising. In July, Ohio bettors wagered $477 million, up from $332 million the prior year. June’s figures followed suit with $530 million in bets, a leap from $348 million.
The yearly growth isn’t just on wagered bets though. The same trend exists for revenue — as in the money that sportsbooks and the state keep. August 2024 saw nearly $49 million in revenue, up from $41 million last year. July’s revenue jumped from $37 million to $55 million, while June’s numbers increased from $33 million to $51 million.
What are these bettors throwing money on? MLB we suppose. That’s really the “only show in town” after the middle of June when the NBA Finals And NHL Stanley Cup wrap up. Sure, there’s some boxing and UFC, but those are weekend activities only. Maybe MLS but Ohio isn’t a big market for soccer. It has to be baseball driving these blowout numbers.
DraftKings and FanDuel Remain Neck And Neck In Ohio
Ohio also reports how individual operators are performing. As is the case in the rest of the country, it’s a two-horse race atop the Ohio market between FanDuel and DraftKings. FanDuel maintained a slim lead in Ohio’s marketplace, bringing in $16.9 million in taxable revenue off a $165.7 million handle — good enough for a 10.20% hold. DraftKings finished strongly close at $16.7 million in online revenue from a higher handle of $178.8 million, with a 9.34% hold.
As you can see, the hold percentage is the real difference between the two. DraftKings actually took in more bets than its chief rival, but bettors beat them out more consistently. FanDuel has perfected this across the country, mostly by promoting parlay betting and boosted odds. Incentivizing bettors to make those wagers — which are often less likely to hit — has created high holds that beat the average countrywide.
Outside of the top two, Bet365 finished third overall. It generated $4 million in revenue from $59.4 million in bets — as you can see, a huge gap behind the leaders. BetMGM reported $2.3 million in revenue on a $38.2 million handle, while ESPN Bet pulled in $1.9 million from $19.7 million. Under 40 percent of all bets in the state for Ohio came in these smaller platforms not named DraftKings and FanDuel.
Also included in that other number are retail bookmakers. In this often overlooked category, Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway took the top spot with $377,810 in revenue from a $1.4 million handle. Womp womp womp, we know but local bettors mostly stick to mobile betting apps. Seminole Hard Rock Digital followed closely behind, netting $363,549 in revenue from a $1.9 million handle.
Could Ohio Hit 10 Billy This Year?
Get this, after eight months of reporting, Ohioans have now bet $5.1 billion on sports — no surprise, up from $4.5 billion at the same period last year. This begs the question, could Ohio hit the 10 billion mark? It hit $7.6 billion for all of 2023. When you follow the year-over-year trends, it feels like it’s going to be dangerously close.
Our gut feeling says yes though. That’s because Ohio is having an interesting football season, to say the least. We start with college football where the Buckeyes are 5-0 and ranked second in the nation, behind only Texas. The team that kept it out of the College Football Playoff the last two years, rival Michigan, has two losses already so they’re not a real threat. Ohio State has a clear path to the national title — and that will be a boon for betting.
Then there are the two NFL teams — the Browns and Bengals. Neither is off to a good start, but we wouldn’t say Ohio bettors are riding them off anytime soon. The Bengals still have hype, and the Browns, well, they’re like a car crash you just can’t take your eyes off.
Plus, the Cavaliers are returning to betting action this month when the NBA re-starts. Basketball doesn’t draw the betting dollars that football does, but it’s still NOT a nothing burger. All this momentum could topple the $10 billion mark in our opinion.
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