$1B of Online Sports Wagers Placed in Ohio’s First Month

• Ohio sportsbooks took in over $1 billion worth of sports wagers in the month of January.
• Ohio earned nearly $209 million in total revenue from January sports gaming.

COLUMBUS, Ohio. – Ohio joined a handful of states to break the $1billion monthly handle, and they did so in their first month of action. According to the Ohio Casino Control Commission’s monthly sports gaming revenue report, $1,113,251,403 was the betting handle.

Despite the large amount of money wagered, only $883,651,489 worth of winnings were paid. This is likely due to many starting their legal sports betting journey by betting the Cincinnati Bengals to win the Super Bowl.

Still, Ohio sportsbooks earned $208,921,342 in revenue before paying taxes.

Only $3.2 million came from retail sports betting, making up less than 2% of Ohio’s January sports betting revenue.

Bringing In The Dough

The Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill 29 over a year ago and are now reaping the benefits.

HB 29 regulated retail and online sports betting in Ohio that commenced on January 1, 2023.

In the Ohio Legislative Service Commission’s description of the bill that allowed legal Ohio sports betting, the staff writers significantly underestimated the betting capabilities of Ohioans.

It claims that “Legalizing and taxing sports gaming will raise several tens of millions of dollars per year, once the program is fully operational and sports wagering markets mature.”

Off to a great start, the state earned over $20 million just in taxes in January.

News tags: Cincinnati Bengals | HB29 | Ohio