Sportsbooks in Ohio posted the largest amount of revenue since March as bettors anticipated the beginning of the NFL season in September.
Per Ohio Casino Control Commission data, sportsbooks generated $79.4m in revenue during September, more than double that of August, when they made $39.4m. It is the largest amount of revenue made since March’s total of $92m, though it must be noted that operators were spending more on promotional credit at this time.
Handle stood at $668m for September, marking a significant increase from the $364m taken in bets during August. It comes as Ohio enjoys its first-ever NFL season with a legalized, regulated sports betting market.
While a significant amount, it is still some way off the record set in January, the first month of operations when over $1bn was wagered. However, this was significantly impacted by promotional credits that operators offered players to entice them onto their platforms.
In September, promotional spend, which is not tax-deductible, was $52.5m, significantly down on the $320m spent on bonuses in January. Promotional spend is still higher than each month since March, driven by the spend ahead of NFL season though it is still a large decline from the first month of launch.
Per operator, DraftKings took the most handle in Ohio, with $261.3m spent on the platform in September. FanDuel took $207.8m in bets, with the top five comprising BetMGM ($46.1m), Bet365 ($41.9m) and Fanatics ($23.7m).
Fanatics is asserting itself as one of the top five operators in Ohio on both handle and revenue, having launched earlier this year. The challenger brand, which has lofty ambitions across the US having acquired PointsBet US, made $3.9m – though it spent $5.9m in promotional credit as it seeks to build a strong brand with Ohio players.
The revenue market leader was FanDuel, having made $28.5m in taxable revenue, beating DraftKings, which made $20k less despite taking around $55m more in bets.
The top five was rounded off by BetMGM ($6.1m), bet365 ($5.9m) and Fanatics ($3.9m).
