
The Ohio Casino Control Commission has released its July numbers and DraftKings was the most popular sportsbook according to the sports betting handle. This was the first time since the launch that any sports betting app other than FanDuel won the popularity contest in Ohio.
DraftKings Rules the Buckeye State
It is said that two of the top sportsbooks, DraftKings and FanDuel, have a duopoly in the domestic sports betting market and the evidence bears that assertion out. However, where once FanDuel routinely prevailed as the top book, with DraftKings always playing second fiddle, that dynamic has begun to change.
The most recent occurrence of that paradigm shift was in Ohio as July’s betting handle told the tale. DraftKings generated $116.2 million of the combined $319.6 million betting handle among the 18 sites while FanDuel trailed with $106.7 million.
However, due to a higher hold, or win rate, FanDuel came away with the most money in its pocket with $14 million versus $11.8 million for DraftKings. A combined $37.1 million in revenue was generated by the online sportsbooks which meant $7.4 million was collected by the tax man. July was the first month in which the Ohio tax rate jumped from 10 percent to 20 percent of the sportsbooks’ adjusted gross revenues.
As we have seen throughout the nation, online betting in Ohio dwarfed retail wagering as evidenced by the $319.6 million of July’s $331.1 million in total wagers accepted, or 96.5 percent of the sports betting handle. It’s not surprising mobile betting routinely trounces retail betting as it is far more convenient to place a wager on one’s mobile device than to drive to the nearest sportsbook.
Top 5 Online Sports Betting Operators in July (Handle):
Sportsbook | Handle |
DraftKings | $116.2 million |
FanDuel | $107 million |
Bet365 | $24 million |
BetMGM | $23 million |
Caesars Sportsbook | $18 million |
Top 4 Retail Sports Betting Operators in July (Handle):
Sportsbook | Handle |
BetMGM | $2.8 million |
Seminole Hard Rock Digital | $1.5 million |
Barstool | $1.3 million |
Caesars | $1.06 million |
Mixed Fortunes
Of Ohio’s 14 retail sportsbooks, those listed above were the only retail books to handle north of $1 million in wagers. MGM Northfield Park led the pack with $2.9 million in bets and revenue of $377,714.
And while two of the other three brick-and-mortar books generating $1 million or more saw positive revenue with the Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati profiting $207,646 and the Hollywood Casino Columbus producing $172,022 in revenue, the Caesars Sportsbook at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse had a loss of $11,520. Only its sister book, Caesars Sportsbook at Scioto Downs, took a loss of $2,770 on $543,201 in wagers.
Superbook’s retail site housed inside Taft’s Ale House in Cincinnati produced next to nothing in retail sports bets as it claimed only $1,644 in total bets in July which produced $763 in revenue. Not surprisingly, Superbook has shuttered its operations inside the tavern.
Overall, July proved to be the slowest sports betting month since the launch at the beginning of the year. The handle was 8.6 percent lower than June but that is to be expected due to a dearth of sports betting options. However, September has arrived and the numbers will climb with the NFL and college football seasons finally arriving.