Ohio bettors had their best month on record in June, while sportsbooks had their worst.
Sportsbooks in the Buckeye State saw all-time lows in handle, hold and revenue. Ohio sports betting handle came in at $362 million in June, a 19% decline from May.
Declines heading into summer are nothing new for U.S. sportsbooks, but Ohio books in June continued to pull back on promotional spending (which pads their handle figures) and also posted their lowest hold of the year at 9.0%.
All told, Ohio sportsbooks produced $32 million in revenue — an astounding 44% drop from May’s $57.8 million, the previous low for the state.
Ohio handle, revenue numbers on a steady decline
June marked the third consecutive month with Ohio sportsbooks reporting month-over-month drops in handle and revenue.
Since March, sports betting volume has fallen by over 50% and revenue by 66%.
Month Handle Revenue Hold
January $1,113,333,384 $209,231,932 18.8%
February $638,822,124 $80,922,311 12.7%
March $737,226,885 $95,142,881 12.9%
April $520,576,451 $63,694,300 12.2%
May $446,241,376 $57,828,887 13.0%
June $362,111,919 $32,559,655 9.0%
Total $3,818,312,139 $539,379,966 14.1%
Promo spending magnifies downward trend
Mid-year drops in sports betting action are common in the U.S. sports betting industry, as the calendar offers mostly baseball after the conclusion of the NHL and NBA playoffs.
However, Ohio sportsbooks have reduced their promo spending every month since launching in January, creating even less action during the down months.
Bettors receiving less promotional money translates to more out-of-pocket wagers, and they made the most of it with their 9% hold. The single-digit hold percentage was the first in Ohio sports betting history, though it was still slightly over the 8% industry average.
Five Ohio sportsbooks exceed $20 million handle
The market is taking shape after six months of Ohio sports betting, with Bet365 Sportsbook’s aggressive promotional spending strategy helping it edge out BetMGM Sportsbook and Caesars Sportsbook for third in market share for the second straight month.
None of the three came close to FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook, which maintained their combined market share of 68.2% from May’s 68.6%.
Below the top five, only two operators recorded more than $5 million handles. None generated more than $1 million in revenue for the month.
Sportsbook June Handle Market Share June Revenue
FanDuel $120,326,665 34.54% $14,041,106
DraftKings $117,493,459 33.73% $9,302,782
Bet365 $26,546,884 7.62% $2,651,683
BetMGM $25,810,205 7.41% $2,265,647
Caesars $20,426,469 5.86% $1,191,527
Barstool $14,470,772 4.15% $774,571
Hard Rock $6,024,832 1.73% $282,911
Tipico $4,056,562 1.16% $409,254
BetJACK $2,556,675 .73% $153,498
BetRivers $2,245,790 .64% $142,250
Fanatics $2,240,706 .64% $402,222
PointsBet $2,169,810 .62% $244,271
Betfred $1,437,342 .41% $53,772
Betway $561,382 .16% $30,627
SuperBook $535,348 .15% $0
betPARX $516,518 .15% $45,461
MVGBet $488,224 .14% $1,951
Betr $469,586 .13% $26,301
Ohio a top-five market at the midway point
A successful Jan. 1 Ohio sports betting launch — fueled by pent-up demand and aggressive promotional spending in an attractive market — put it on pace to become a top-three market in the nation.
Promotional spending has since dropped, and inflated numbers have been replaced by a more accurate representation of what the market looks like.
And despite handle falling from the first three month’s highs, the numbers aren’t all that bad. Halfway through 2023, Ohio sits fifth in the nation with $3.82 billion in handle, sandwiched between the mature Nevada and Pennsylvania markets.
That said, Ohio’s numbers are inflated from its launch. Pennsylvania has outperformed Ohio each of the last three months and will create a close race by the end of the year if both states remain on the same pace.
YTD sports betting volume:
- New York: $9.15 billion
- Illinois: $3.92 billion (through April)
- New Jersey: $5.16 billion
- Nevada: $4.01 billion
- Ohio: $3.82 billion
- Pennsylvania: $3.5 billion
Furthermore, its first six months have been such a success that legislators have doubled the state taxes on Ohio sports betting revenue. The tax hike went into effect on July 1, though the situation continues to develop.
Halfway through the year, retail and online sportsbooks have combined for more than $539 million in taxable revenue.
Month Online Retail Total Taxable Revenue
January $206,101,561 $3,506,071 $209,607,632
February $80,114,817 $940,380 $81,055,197
March $92,002,730 $2,852,580 $94,855,310
April $61,834,221 $1,496,659 $63,330,880
May $55,949,214 $1,932,383 $57,881,597
June $32,019,834 $689,028 $32,708,862
YTD $528,022,377 $11,417,101 $539,439,478
