With the market still just days old, sportsbook operators are still gathering data in Ohio.
Who is the state’s typical bettor, and what is different about sports betting in Ohio?
Football, sure. And NBA hoops, especially with the surging Cleveland Cavaliers in Ohio, will draw plenty of action.
Caesars Sportsbook gave PlayOhio a preliminary look at what they’ve been seeing since the Jan. 1 launch. Here are four early trends.
1. Heavier parlay action in Ohio than national average
Caesars Sportsbook tells us, early on, that Ohio sports bettors are more into parlays than other live states. However, the spokesperson did point out that this is typical right after new state launches as site credits are being used by new customers.
A parlay is a reasonable way to get your bankroll boosted early on at Caesars. Given that, with the promotion earned by clicking the banner above, Caesars is refunding your first bet up to $1,500 with an additional bet credit if it loses, it makes sense to try a bit of a riskier play.
That’s just what a parlay is: A chance to bet a little and possibly win a lot. This is a permission slip to put more risk on to your first play, if you’re up for it.
2. After football, Cavaliers have been second-most popular bets
We all know that football is king, especially in sports betting. Our PlayOhio survey from earlier this year revealed that more than 75% of Ohio sports bettors planned to wager on the NFL.
We’ll see how those numbers play out, but the Cavs are also giving sports fans something to talk about this year. The betting has followed.
Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs have an exciting young core and sit firmly in the Eastern Conference playoff race in the NBA standings. According to BetMGM Sportsbook, Ohio residents have taken notice of Mitchell and the Cavaliers’ great play.
3. Blue Jackets have drawn ‘notable interest’ in first week
The NHL has faded over the years as the decided No. 4 on the pecking order of America’s major sports. It might even be a matter of time until soccer passes hockey, too. We’ll see how Ohio soccer betting stacks up with hockey over time, especially given the state’s pair of Major League Soccer teams.
But early on, Caesars indicates Columbus Blue Jackets betting is drawing ‘notable interest’ in the market.
It makes sense. Heck, this is the only team in the four majors in Ohio’s most-populated city. While the metro areas of the others are larger, Columbus has nearly three times as many residents as either Cleveland or Cincinnati.
We’ll see how Blue Jackets betting holds up as the season drags on for one of the NHL’s worst teams.
4. Most non-NFL action? Jan. 2 Penn State Rose Bowl win
Perhaps surprisingly, the biggest non-NFL event so far on the Ohio sports betting calendar was a game not involving Ohio teams.
Like we said, football is still king, and the Jan. 2 Rose Bowl taking the top (non-NFL) spot through one week is further evidence of that. Penn State throttled Utah 35-21 in that one, which was a lead-up to the Monday Night Football game featuring the Cincinnati Bengals.
There are a few reasons for that:
- Big Ten football is huge in Ohio, and so is the Rose Bowl.
- Penn State is a big OSU rival, so Ohio bettors naturally were tuned into that one.
- Timing is key: Many people were home on Jan. 2 and anxious to place bets down on day two of the market.
- Have we mentioned yet that football is king?
We should have plenty more data to sift through in the coming weeks. But for now, it’s interesting to hear from Caesars on what Ohio looks like so far.
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