The Ohio Casino Control Commission and Ohio Lottery issued its June report which revealed sportsbooks generated a combined $530.6 million handle which was up a whopping 46% from June 2023.
Betting Buzzing in the Buckeye State
June is one of the slowest sports betting months on the calendar due to a dearth of options as the NBA and NHL are winding down with the main attraction being Major League Baseball for the remainder of the summer.
Therefore, it’s not surprising that June handles are annually down from the previous month and they were again this year as June’s $530.6 million handle was down 13.4% from May. However, growth is measured in year-over-year comparisons which should give stakeholders in the Ohio sports betting market something to cheer about as evidenced by the 46% increase from last June.
The Buckeye State has proven to be fertile soil for sportsbooks and, in yet another example of how robust the market is, Ohio was only one of four states to generate north of $500 million in accepted wagers in June. Year-to-date metrics also bolster Ohio’s reputation as one of the hottest sports betting markets in the nation with $4.1 billion wagered thus far in 2024, $300 million more than in the first six months of last year.
A higher handle generally leads to higher revenues, unless the hold (win rate) drops precipitously, therefore, it was not surprising that the sportsbooks’ $51.3 million in combined revenue for June was up 56.8% from the $32.56 million in revenue generated in June 2023. The hold was nearly 9.7%, a slight improvement from June 2023’s win rate of 9%.
The state’s coffers swelled by $10.3 million, which now brings the total to $87.6 million in sports betting operator’s taxes for all of 2024. Although June’s numbers are traditionally the lowest of any in the first six months, the data shows a market that continues to grow even during the doldrums of summer.
DraftKings and FanDuel Dominate
It’s a scenario that industry watchers have seen repeatedly, FanDuel and DraftKings continue to dominate the sports betting markets and Ohio was no exception to the rule in June. DraftKings was the top sportsbook in terms of handle, generating $181.2 million, while FanDuel trailed with 159.4 million but beating all others.
However, when it came to the bottom line, FanDuel’s staggering win rate of 14.2% effectuated higher revenue production than DraftKings’ meager-by-comparison hold of 8.4%. That translated into $22.7 million in June revenue for FanDuel, easily besting its archrival’s $15.3 million for the month.
Bet365 enjoyed a respectable showing as the third-place finisher with a $52 million handle in June which delivered a $4.58 million profit. BetMGM produced $34.4 million in accepted sports bets, resulting in $2.5 million in revenues while Caesars also had a decent month with $27.7 million in bets recorded but its paltry 2.6% hold meant only $717,000 in profits.
The only two other Ohio sportsbooks that even sniffed the $20 million handle threshold were ESPN BET with $19.93 million in wagers producing $1.75 million in revenues followed ever-so-closely by Fanatics with $17.8 million in bets, registering a $1.38 million profit for the month.
