While most sportsbooks inevitably watch handle slide from May to June, Fanatics managed to expand during its second full month of operation in Ohio. The sportsbook remains in beta mode but nonetheless improved from just over $1 million in handle in May to $2.2 million in June.
Fanatics was the only sportsbook to see handle increases month-over-month. Overall handle for Ohio operators dropped 19% to $348.4 million compared to $430.7 million in May. Revenue also dipped 43% from $55.9 million to $32 million. Hold for the month came in at 9.1%.
Promotional spending reached a nadir of $14.9 million, which is a drop in the bucket compared to the nearly $320 million spent during the state’s January debut. Fanatics was the only operator that spent more on promotional credits in June than May, jumping from $470,000 to $900,000.
DraftKings and FanDuel posted virtually identical handle for the month with $120 million for FanDuel and $117 million for DraftKings. On the revenue side, FanDuel substantially outpaced DraftKings with $14 million to $9.3 million. However, that did come as a result of FanDuel spending a full $1 million more on promos.
Bet365 continued its heavy promo spending to maintain its third-place position. The operator pulled in $26.6 million in handle and $2.7 million in revenue with $2.5 million in promotional credit spend.
BetMGM, Caesars, and Barstool were the only other operators with more than $10 million in handle. They posted $25.8 million, $20.4 million, and $14.5 million respectively.
MGM crushed the retail sportsbook numbers in terms of handle with $4.7 million wagered at its Northfield Park sportsbook. Interestingly though, the sportsbook was one of four operators to actually lose money on the month for sports betting. Given the Cincinnati Reds‘ hot run and 12-game winning streak, that might explain some of the rough returns. Retail sportsbooks combined for $13.7 million in handle but only posted $566,000 in revenue.
Even though the Reds were on a historic run and sold out Great American Ballpark for at least one game, the retail sportsbook was the second-worst performer of the month. The location only accepted $117,000 in wagers and generated $17,000 in revenue. BetMGM and the Reds have already announced they are moving the venue to a location outside the stadium.
