January 2023 was essentially the first month of sports gambling in Ohio, as the state amassed $1.1 billion in total sports gambling wagers placed. It’s still worth noting that $320 million of the wagers were offered by sportsbooks in the form of various promotional inducements and incentives.
Once the industry adjusts to this, the results may actually begin to wane a little. But for the time being, Ohio is going to wax, with $21 million generated for the state’s coffers in tax revenue. The Ohio Casino Control Commission, which regulates the sports gambling industry in Buckeye State, offered a detailed breakdown of both retail and mobile performance.
Mobile Is King of Ohio’s Sports Betting
There is not even a sliver of doubt who calls the shots in Ohio when it comes to legal sports gambling with the state driving $1.09 billion of the total gambling handle through the 16 regulated sports betting apps. This is a massive performance that has sent a clear message to jurisdictions still hesitant about the benefits of having mobile gambling from the start.
Some $770 million of the handle was actual money put forward by the punters, with the other $320 million coming from the promotions that apps were dishing out to secure the biggest chunk of players in the state. Apps also ended up paying some $864 million to gamblers, registering a decent hold after all. Promotions were mostly limited to mobile sportsbooks, though, as neither their physical counterparts nor the kiosks strewed across the state volunteered such credits.
Physical sportsbooks didn’t do too badly, although nothing in comparison with mobile betting. Still, JACK Cleveland Casino and MGM Northfield Park collected about $23 million, paying back around $20 million to punters. Kiosks also saw some action, with gamblers putting down $850,000 on these machines. The amount won back from kiosks stood at around $720,000 the Casino Control Commission reported.
Plenty of Taxable Revenue Thanks to Ohio’s Laws
The total collected by the industry in gross taxable revenue stood at $209 million, with $206 million of this amount coming from mobile apps. Tax payments were good, too, as Ohio does not allow companies to subtract promotional credits offered to induce people to gamble more from the taxable sum.
The Buckeye State is poised to continue posting great results as February will be marked by a strong interest in the Super Bowl and March – by the March Madness college tournament which should continue to drive results before the summer lull arrives.
In January, sports bettors spent heavily on the NFL playoffs along with other sports. How Ohio’s market matures remains to be seen, but first – there will be more heavy action going down at the sportsbook.