As revenue reports continue to roll in for November, it is becoming clearer just how big ESPN Bet went on promotional spending to make a splash in the sports betting industry.
ESPN Bet spent almost $30 million in promos for Ohio debut
In Ohio, ESPN Bet spent nearly $30 million in promotional credit, accounting for half of the $58.8 million in promotional spend across the state.
In return, ESPN Bet debuted in third place behind FanDuel ($293.3 million) and DraftKings ($275.8 million) and posted $70.8 million in handle for the month. On the revenue side, DraftKings topped the field with $22.5 million, FanDuel was second with $21 million, and ESPN Bet sat in third as well with $12 million in revenue.
However, ESPN Bet made the podium by spending more than FanDuel and DraftKings combined. DraftKings spent $10.5 million in promo cred, while FanDuel doled out just short of $9 million. Even bet365, considered one of the bigger spenders in the state, only spent $3.4 million in promotional credit for the month.
BetMGM ($50 million) and bet365 ($45.4 million) rounded out the top five in terms of handle.
November best month for Ohio sportsbooks since January
All told, Ohio online sportsbooks accepted $841.1 million in wagers, resulting in the best month for the state since its launch in January. The market generated $66.6 million in revenue for a hold percentage of 7.9%. The performance resulted in a little over $13 million in tax revenue for the state.
Fanatics Sportsbook continued to hold steady with around $25 million in revenue for the third consecutive month, which puts it in seventh place behind Caesars.
Prime Sportsbooks continues to rise in the ranks
Upstart Prime Sportsbook managed to nearly triple its handle from October, accepting $5.8 million in bets. True to its model, which is to be a sportsbook for savvy bettors, the site only managed $12,550 in revenue. The narrow performance follows an October performance that generated $66,000 in revenue on $2.3 million in bets.
Three operators ended up in the red for November, Betr, Superbook, and MVG Bet. Superbook ($422,000) and Betr ($430,000) generated the least handle and ended up with losses of $5,552 and $4,680 respectively. MVG Bet’s losses were fairly marginal as well, with $15,000 in losses against just over $1 million in handle.
