Ohio sportsbooks overtook New York’s historic post-PASPA January $149.9 million in revenue and are now the top post-PASPA monthly revenue earner and accomplished it in just 31 days.
As a result, the January handle catapulted Ohio to number two among the 36 states and Washington, D.C., with legalized sports betting.
Top 10 U.S. states by sports betting dollars wagered, Jan. 2023 (of states reporting so far):
1. New York: $1.8 BILLION
2. Ohio: $1.11 BILLION
3. NJ: $1.08 BILLION
4. Nevada: $935.8M
5. PA: $772M
6. Michigan: $491M
7. Maryland: $441.5M
8. IN: $427M
9. TN: $410.7M
10. LA: $282M— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) February 28, 2023
The 17 online sportsbooks led the way with $1.09 billion in the total betting handle, and the revenue after promotional wagers was $205.7 million. The 12 retail sportsbook proprietors reported a $22.9 billion handle and $3.2 million in revenue.
FanDuel Leads Online Proprietors
FanDuel, operating under the Belterra Park license, led Ohio proprietors with a whopping $491 million in handle for a net revenue of $103.2 million. The state’s top 5 online sports betting operators handle and revenue for January:
- FanDuel Ohio – $494.1 million ($103.2 million in revenue)
- DraftKings Ohio – $343.9 million ($55.1 million in revenue)
- BetMGM Ohio – $82.1 million ($21.6 million in revenue)
- Bet365 Ohio – $38.6 million ($8.4 million in revenue)
FanDuel also led all Ohio sportsbook operators in taxable revenue, netting $103.2 million from Buckeye State sports bettors.
Ohio Retail Sportsbooks Off to Slower Start
Ohio retail sportsbooks took in $22.9 million at the 12 locations throughout the state. Seminole Hard Rock Digital handled $4.4 million for a state-leading $792,713 revenue. The top 5 retail proprietors in the Buckeye State by handle and revenue are:
- Hard Rock Cincinnati, Hard Rock Sportsbook – $4.4 million ($792,713 in revenue)
- Jack Cleveland, BetJack – $3.5 million ($485,860 in revenue)
- Hollywood Columbus, Barstool – $3.1 million
- MGM Northfield Park, BetMGM – $2 million ($421,627 in revenue)
- Scioto Downs, Caesars – $1.8 million ($205,781 in revenue)
Promotional Bets Could Skew January Numbers
The January numbers might be skewed as nearly every Ohio sports bettor used some sort of promotion involving betting credits.
These promotional wagers are non-taxable opportunities to attract new business, and it worked – now the sportsbooks have to retain their new customers, which will greatly impact the February numbers.
- FanDuel Ohio – $168.6 million in promotional wagers
- DraftKings Ohio – $86.6 million in promotional wagers
- BetMGM Ohio – $27.3 million in promotional wagers
- Bet365 Ohio – $15.9 million in promotional wagers
- Barstool Ohio – $5.4 million in promotional wagers
What February Numbers Could Bring
The Ohio sports betting world got off to a roaring start with the historic January opening but what can we expect to see in February?
Super Bowl LVII
As reported earlier this month, GeoComply tracked 1.1 million unique accounts for the Saturday-Sunday Super Bowl LVII weekend and 12.6 million GeoChecks.
Many of these new accounts were from Kentucky residents crossing state lines to wager on the Super Bowl.
Full Month of Statewide Lottery Kiosks
We told Ohio sports bettors the story of the Intralot Kiosk delay causing 100s of restaurants, bars, and state lottery agents to miss most if not all of January and into February.
Those kiosks run in nearly all OCCC-licensed businesses, and Ohio could see a boost from the kiosks.
FAQ
What is PASPA?
PASPA, or Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, prohibited wagering on fixed odds sporting events except for Las Vegas. That law was repealed in 2018 and is now left up to the individual states to decide the legality of sports betting.
What is a betting handle?
The betting handle is the number of total wagers a sportsbook operator takes in over a period of time. It could be a single game, a specific sports season amount wagered, or in the case of Ohio, what was wagered at the sportsbooks during January.
What is betting revenue?
Betting revenue is the amount the Ohio sportsbooks keep out of the amount wagered.
What are promotional bets?
Promotional bets are non-taxable promos offered by Ohio sportsbooks to new and existing customers.
How much does the state of Ohio gain in tax revenue from Sports Betting?
Ohio charges a 10% tax on proprietors at the rate of 10%. However, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has proposed a new 20% tax rate, if passed, that could begin sometime in 2024.
