A new Optimove study highlights NFL football betting trends, revealing that Ohio sportsbooks can expect record engagement this 2024-25 season.
The study featured a treasure trove of information concerning NFL betting stats, but one takeaway stood above the rest. The popularity of sports betting during NFL season has grown exponentially.
The Ohio sports betting market is also growing at a fast pace. But with market maturity also comes market fluctuation, resulting in multiple sportsbooks leaving Ohio. Here’s what Ohio sports bettors can expect for the 2024-25 NFL season, plus the betting trends we’re seeing so far.
Optimove report suggests Ohio will see biggest NFL betting season yet
The Optimove 2024-2025 Consumer Report on NFL Wagering Intentions outlined the report’s goals in its intro, saying:
“The Optimove Insights 2024–2025 Consumer Report on NFL Wagering Intentions provides an in-depth analysis of the betting behaviors, preferences, and trends among NFL bettors. Key findings from the report include significant increases in betting frequency, confidence, and engagement, as well as insights into the motivations and habits of bettors.”
To come to its determinations, Optimove followed this methodology:
“The Optimove Insights 2024–2025 Consumer Report on NFL Wagering Intentions was based on queries of 356 U.S. citizens who bet on NFL football fielded in August 2024. Respondents were ages 21-plus, and household incomes were $75,000-plus.”
A whopping 84% of those surveyed said they ‘definitely will’ bet on football games during the NFL season. That is 14% higher than in 2023 and 21% higher than in 2022. Despite so many people certain they will bet at some point this season, that does not mean these are people who only plan to bet on one game like the Super Bowl. The report also found that 71% of bettors plan to place bets at least once a week.
Another interesting takeaway was the most popular sports betting operators and the overall lack of brand loyalty. DraftKings and FanDuel led in popularity, but 68% of bettors said they use two or more sportsbooks. Another 42% claimed that free bet promotions are their driving force for choosing a sportsbook.
The Optimove NFL report also made its own claim about how brand loyalty is fleeting.
“While DraftKings (24%) and FanDuel (22%) were the top two branded name sites identified and preferred by NFL bettors, it must be noted that in 2023, our survey revealed that 23% of sports bettors said that they have no preference. It underscores that brand loyalty is fleeting in NFL sportsbooks.”
Ohio sports betting market will look much different this NFL season
The Ohio sports betting market looks quite different now than it did at the start of the 2023 NFL season.
Even with June sports betting handle growing by 48.1% year over year, some operators were not able to gain market share in Ohio since legalization. As the market has matured, the large operators have risen to the top while smaller sportsbooks are either fighting for small percentages of market share or have closed up shop all together.
Most recently, SuperBook Sports closed in Ohio and every other US state, with the exception of Nevada. That decision also included the shut down of Betway Sportsbook, which is owned by SuperBook Sports. Betfred Sportsbook also announced it is ending all operations in the Ohio sports betting market but will keep going in other states across the country. Tipico Sportsbooks has also elected to give up on the Ohio sports betting market.
Additionally, pressure from lawmakers finally led to the shutdown of Bovada, which operates an unregulated offshore digital gambling platform. No longer will Ohio residents have access to the illegal site after Bovada added Ohio to its restricted market list.
More changes could be on the way as well. Recently, a trio of Republican lawmakers in Ohio spoke out in favor of a college prop bet ban repeal, which could change betting trends during football season dramatically.
Could Ohio lawmakers remove the college prop betting ban?
To better inform lawmakers and stakeholders of how gaming could grow with time, An Ohio Study Commission on the Future of Gaming was formed. Within its report, a trio of lawmakers presented an argument in favor of college prop bets, which were banned recently in Ohio.
Those three Senators are Jay Edwards, Jeff LaRe, and Cindy Abrams. In their combined testimony, they officially recommended the repeal of the college prop bet ban, noting:
“In February of 2024, by request of the NCAA, the OCCC implemented a policy that banned proposition ‘prop’ betting on individual college athlete performances. While we understand the circumstances in which this decision was made, we believe it is one that was not needed. With the current landscape of collegiate athletics and NIL, players are now being paid to play (and perform) in certain sports. That is no different than any other professional sport (i.e., NFL, NBA, or MLB). And with professional sports, any individual can go on DraftKings or FanDuel to place a prop-bet on any athlete.”
“We recommend that the OCCC’s policy be rescinded and prop- betting on college athletes be restored.”
No official action has been taken toward that goal, and the odds of repealing the ban are highly unlikely at this time. No other interested parties have spoken out in favor of repealing.
