Mobile betting apps in Ohio were where the lion’s share of the betting handle was made, resulting in the bookmakers reporting a combined $87.2 million in taxable revenue.
ESPN BET made a strong showing during their first full month operating in Ohio, while a handful of the states’ mobile operators failed to earn enough to be taxed.
FanDuel and DraftKings Lead Mobile Operators
By now, it shouldn’t be surprising that the top destinations for Ohio mobile bettors are FanDuel and DraftKings Ohio.
FanDuel was the top mobile destination in betting handle ($289 million), topping the state’s mobile operators with $34.7 million in taxable revenue. The NYC-based bookmaker accomplished this on the third-most promotional free bets while paying $37.4 million to the state.
DraftKings was a strong No. 2 to their NYC rival, accepting $261.3 million in mobile wagers while paying a healthy $25.4 million in taxes on a reported $24.3 million in taxable revenue. The Boston-based bookmaker did out the second-most $9.2 million in promotional freebies for the month, but no one handed out more promotional free bets during December than ESPN BET.
ESPN BET Makes Splashy Entrance
ESPN BET Ohio (formerly Barstool Sports) passed out over $11 million in free bets and other promotions during December, resulting in the third-best betting handle in the state ($72.8 million). That required the newly skinned PENN Gaming brand to pay $8.1 million in taxes during the twelfth month of the season.
BetMGM, bet365, Fanatics, and Caesars were the only other Ohio mobile operators to generate taxable revenue of more than $1 million.
Buckeye State Big Winners
Finally, and as always, the Ohio state tax office is the big winner from legalized sports betting. The state collected $17.4 million in December to raise the amount of taxes collected from the licensed Ohio sportsbook companies to over $136 million during 2023.
