More than 70 Ohio businesses added sports betting kiosks in March as Ohio continues to green-light the sports betting machines across the state.
There are now 940 locations licensed to host the betting machines, according to numbers released by the Ohio Lottery Commission on March 31.
The Lottery said 866 businesses were licensed to host sports betting kiosks in its Feb. 28 report. When legal Ohio sports betting launched on Jan. 1, 771 businesses were licensed to add the betting machines.
BetSkybox latest kiosk supplier to report host partners
There are currently seven proprietors licensed to provide sports betting kiosks in Ohio. So far only five of the licensed kiosk providers are reporting host partnerships and actively supplying kiosks.
BetSkybox is the latest kiosk supplier to announce Ohio host partners.
BetSkybox first appeared in the Lottery’s weekly sports betting kiosk host locations report on March 3. The company opened with machines in 12 locations across the state.
According to the Lottery’s most recent kiosk report, BetSkybox machines are currently in 31 locations.
Intralot continues to have most Ohio host partnerships
Intralot Inc. still has by far the most host partnerships in Ohio. Intralot has been an Ohio Lottery gaming system provider for the past 14 years, operating the state’s lottery kiosks and KENO machines.
Intralot, which uses its SportsBet Ohio platform to facilitate sports betting on its machines, accounts for 80% of the kiosks used by bars, restaurants and other businesses in the state.
Intralot has added 28 host partners since the Lottery’s March 3 report, marking the biggest growth out of Ohio’s five licensed kiosk proprietors in that timeframe.
Here’s the breakdown, as of March 31, of the kiosk providers and how many businesses they are currently partnered with:
- Intralot: 753 businesses
- Gold Rush Gaming: 68
- betIGG: 50
- UBet Ohio: 38
- BetSkybox: 31
Elys Game Technology and J&J Ventures are also licensed to supply kiosks in Ohio but the companies have not reported any partnerships yet.
Here is the current list of licensed Ohio sports betting kiosk locations:
Cincinnati catching up to Columbus for most kiosk hosts
Ohio’s capital city continues to be home to the most businesses hosting sports betting kiosks out of all cities in the state.
But the margin between Columbus and Cincinnati is tightening.
Since Feb. 28, Cincinnati has added eight kiosk host locations, bringing its total to 57 locations. Columbus, in that same time period, added just three kiosk host locations. But Columbus still has the most total kiosk hosts, with 61 locations.
Total betting kiosk locations by city:
- Akron: 39 locations
- Brunswick: 8 locations
- Canton and North Canton: 17 locations
- Cincinnati: 57 locations
- Cleveland and Cleveland Heights: 36 locations
- Columbus: 61 locations
- Dayton: 19 locations
- Parma and Parma Heights: 23 locations
- Toledo: 30 locations
- Youngstown: 9 locations
Sports betting kiosk handle on the rise
As Ohio continues to approve more sports betting kiosk hosts — and with some of the early tech issues seemingly ironed out — the kiosk handle in the state has gone up.
In February, Ohio took in $973,208 in handle through the kiosks, a 14.4% increase over January.
Bettors also won more in February at the kiosks — $909,552 — compared to January’s $722,376 in winnings.
Those bigger winnings led to revenue from the kiosks dropping from January to February, going from $116,040 in Ohio’s first month of sports betting to $62,146 in February.
The Lottery’s and proprietors’ revenue shares also dropped. In January, the proprietors’ share was $87,664, while February saw them taking in just $48,332. The Lottery’s share went from $28,376 in January to $13,814 in February.
The number of kiosks in Ohio will likely continue to creep upward. As of March 3, the Ohio Lottery had pre-approved 1,597 businesses to host sports betting kiosks.
These businesses still must apply for a license through the Ohio Casino Control Commission, which approves them for a Type-C sports betting license, followed by final approval from the Lottery. At that point, they can partner with a kiosk supplier and start operating the machines.
The OCCC has approved over 1,100 businesses for Type-C licenses.
