SuperBook Sports has announced the immediate closure of its online sportsbook operations in every state except Nevada. That includes Ohio, which has lost four online sportsbook options in less than a month.
SuperBook announced the closure with a social media post on the evening of July 19.
The announcement follows similar ones from Betway and Tipico, which are also exiting the Ohio sports betting market. Most recently, Betfred announced it was closing its operations in the Buckeye State.
SuperBook closing operations in eight states
In its social media post, SuperBook announced that it was leaving eight states effective immediately:
“We regret to inform you that SuperBook Sports will no longer be accepting wagers, deposits or new accounts in Colorado, New Jersey, Arizona Tennessee, Ohio, Iowa, Maryland and Virginia effective July 19, 2024 at 8 p.m. ET.”
Ohio customers can still access their accounts to withdraw any remaining funds.
SuperBook will continue to operate its online sportsbook statewide in Nevada. SuperBook Sports began as a large retail sportsbook at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. The retail sportsbook will also remain open.
Ohio retail SuperBook location closed last summer
SuperBook Sports was among the first online sportsbooks to launch in Ohio on Jan. 1, 2023. The sportsbook was the online betting partner of FC Cincinnati. Ohio’s other MLS team, the Columbus Crew, also recently found itself without an online sportsbook partner, after the announcement of Tipico shutting down its US operations.
SuperBook was also FC Cincinnati’s partner on an Ohio retail sportsbook license. Although there were rumors that the brick-and-mortar sportsbook would open at the team’s TQL Stadium, the SuperBook/FC Cincinnati retail sportsbook opened instead in the basement of a nearby brewpub/restaurant on New Year’s Day 2023.
Though it had a nice atmosphere and location, SuperBook’s retail sportsbook at Taft’s Ale House in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood failed to attract bettors. SupeBook closed the location last August after posting abysmal revenue numbers. In three of the eight months it was open, SuperBook’s Cincinnati retail sportsbook posted no revenue at all.
SuperBook struggled to establish substantial Ohio online market share
SuperBook didn’t have much better luck with its Ohio online sportsbook. The online sportsbook consistently finished near the bottom in terms of operator handle and revenue in the state.
According to the Ohio Casino Control Commission’s 2024 revenue report, SuperBook’s online sportsbook reported zero revenue in six of its first 17 months of operations.
In the first five months of 2024, SuperBook had $86k in online sports betting revenue in Ohio. By comparison, BetRivers, one of the lower-tiered Ohio sportsbooks trying to elevate itself into the second tier, posted $279k in revenue in May alone.
This year, SuperBook accounted for just .08% percent of Ohio’s online sports betting handle and .02% of the gross gaming revenue from online betting in the state.
SuperBook is latest US sportsbook to close in face of tight competition
With multiple lower-performing sportsbooks now dropping out, the Ohio sports betting market offers a microcosm of what is happening nationally. In the face of market dominance by FanDuel and DraftKings, on top of the handful of operators with deep pockets vying for third place, comparatively smaller sportsbooks have found it difficult to compete, and several have been forced to shut down.
Betfred’s Ohio exit and this SuperBook announcement are just the latest closures. Since sports betting began spreading across the U.S. in 2020, online sportsbooks that have opened and then shuttered for financial reasons include:
- WynnBet
- SI Sportsbook
- Unibet
- Betway
- FOX Bet
- TwinSpires
- Maxim Bet
- Fubo
Fortunately for bettors, the Buckeye State still features 17 Ohio sportsbooks for sports fans to choose from.