Ohio sports betting continued to reap rewards in July, with operators’ revenue soaring 49% year-over-year.
The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) and Ohio Lottery reported in their latest monthly figures a combined handle of $476.8 million, of which all but $10 million came from online betting. That monthly total was up 44% from July 2023, meaning that operators’ winnings are outpacing the rise in the amount wagered.
Sportsbooks’ 11.6% hold means operators pocket $55.3 million in adjusted revenue in July. Handle was down 10% month-over-month, hitting a low point in 2024 for the second-consecutive month. But July’s hold was nearly 2% higher than June’s, resulting in an 8% monthly uptick in revenue.
Year-to-date, Ohioans have wagered $4.6 billion so far, up 10.3% from this time last year. That yielded $493.5 million in adjusted gross revenue.
The state’s 18 online sportsbooks accounted for $466.6 million of the handle and $53.6 million of the adjusted revenue. It’s now been nearly a full calendar year of Ohio producing gaming revenue of at least $50 million every month.
July’s takings yielded $11.1 million in tax revenue for the Buckeye State, lifting Ohio’s tax profit to nearly $100 million year-to-date after the state doubled its rate to 20% last year.
Operators paid out $13.3 million in total promotional credits, up 24.6% year-over-year, but the second-lowest monthly total in state history.
DraftKings sees most action but FanDuel crushes
DraftKings continues to take more money than any other operator but when it comes to revenue, FanDuel reigns supreme in Ohio.
The Flutter-owned sportsbook’s July revenue of $20.8 million was $3 million more than DraftKings’ $17.9 million, even though FanDuel took $139.4 million in handle compared to DraftKings’ $160.2 million.
DraftKings has now taken more money than any other sportsbook in Ohio for three months in a row since leapfrogging FanDuel for handle in May.
bet365 sits as the best of the rest, taking $4.8 million in revenue from $51.9 million in bets. The English sportsbook continued to spend heavily on promotions and credits; it has now spent more than $1.5 million every month this year.
BetMGM and Caesars rounded out the top five in terms of bets handled, with respective totals of $29.2 million and $27.4 million. However, while BetMGM took nearly $3 million in revenue, Caesars’ $1.9 million in revenue was below ESPN Bet’s $2 million.
That meant Caesars was only seventh for revenue despite sitting fifth for handle, as it was behind both ESPN Bet and Fanatics Sportsbook’s $1.7 million from nearly $19 million in bets.
SuperBook, Betfred shut down in Ohio
The July update came after news that Ohio is losing two of its operators.
First, SuperBook announced on July 19 that it was exiting all eight of its sports betting markets outside Nevada: Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia.
Meanwhile, Betfred stopped taking wagers from Ohio bettors in mid-August. In its final month, it took $276,091 in wagers for just $26,535 in taxable revenue.
While the revenue numbers concern only legal sportsbooks, there’s a third player no longer taking bets in Ohio. As of two weeks ago, offshore operator Bovada has added Ohio to the list of states from which it is no longer accepting customers. The (OCCC) sent a cease-and-desist letter to the operator earlier in August.
