The Buckeye State enjoyed a strong start with $1.11 billion in January OH sports betting handle during its first month of operation.
Nearly all of that overall January handle came from online Ohio sports betting ($1.09 billion).
Total revenue was $208.9 million, a single-month record for any market.
Ohio, which launched Jan. 1, has a 10% tax rate. Yet Gov. Mike DeWine’s executive budget already proposes doubling it.
Huge OH sports betting numbers
It’s clear that there was plenty of pent up demand from OH bettors eager to wager in the legal market. And Ohio projects to be a significant player going forward.
Ohio’s January sports betting handle trails only New York ($1.8 billion) nationally.
New Jersey is at $1.08 billion. Illinois, which projects to be in the $1 billion ballpark, has yet to release its January handle.
FanDuel, DraftKings spend big
Many operators have said they plan to decrease promotional and marketing spend across the country.
Yet the giants continued to be generous in the Buckeye State.
FanDuel gave out nearly $169 million in promotional credits, while DraftKings came in at just under $87 million.
Overall, online sports wagering operators combined to give out $320 million in OH promotional credits, which is well above their combined total of $205.7 million in taxable revenue. Operators cannot deduct promotional credits.
… And dominate in OH sports betting
FanDuel ($494 million) and DraftKings ($344 million) combined for 76% of the market share.
Bet365 ($39 million) was fifth in OH market share behind FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM ($82 million) and Barstool ($46 million). Bet365, which has been trying to increase its US footing, gave out nearly $16 million in promos.
Meanwhile, Betr ($1 million), co-owned by losing celebrity boxer Jake Paul, failed to gain much traction.
Big February for OH sports betting?
NFL betting remains the US sports wagering industry’s greatest revenue driver. It would not be surprising if Ohio sees a strong return in February, even though the Cincinnati Bengals came up short in their Super Bowl run.
Ohio also features by some of the strictest advertising regulations in the country. Operators have already been fined more than $1 million combined for violations.
Yet that seems minuscule compared to what sports betting has brought at least some of them in revenue so far.