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The Ohio Casino Control Commission has announced sports betting totals from the month of July, and the state hit new lows when it comes to the total sports betting handle. That number came in at just $331.1 million, and it has continued a downward trend since sports betting went live in January 2023.
It’s not uncommon for states to see much lower numbers during the summer months as there just aren’t that many popular sporting events going on. The concerning thing for Ohio is that bettors seem to be ignoring the industry altogether.
There is now a 20% tax rate on sports betting revenue in Ohio, and that did allow the state to bring in $7.5 million. The fact that sports betting handle fell by nearly nine percent from June shows just how much this market is struggling.
Since Ohio did not have legal sports betting available in 2022, there is nothing to compare the current numbers to. Sports betting should see a spike again in the final few months of 2023 now that football has returned, and there are also some other big developments in this market.
DraftKings Gets Past FanDuel
FanDuel Sportsbook has been the leader in the state of Ohio since launch, and it’s also the leader throughout the United States in terms of online market share. That was not the case in the state of Ohio in July as it was DraftKings that was able to sneak in and grab the top spot.
DraftKings Sportsbook posted a total sports betting handle of $116.1 million in July, pushing it just past FanDuel at $106.6 million. FanDuel was still the leader with $14 million in total revenue for the month, and that’s the category that operators really tend to focus on.
BetMGM and Caesars finished in fourth and fifth place respectively in Ohio in both total handle and revenue in July. It was once again bet365 that finished in third place, and the operator from the UK has had tremendous success in this state.
Bally Bet Now Available in Ohio
Bally Bet has had an interesting last few months in the online sports betting industry, as it just recently shut down operations in five states. Bally’s Corporation has not had as much success in this industry as it initially hoped, and it was trying to cut loses and get out to save some money.
Launching in Ohio was always a goal of Bally’s though, and the Bally Bet Sportsbook app is now available in the state. The Bally Bet Sportsbook app is now using new technology that should allow it to become popular and one of the best overall options in the state.
It was important for Bally’s to try and get its product up and running prior to the start of the 2023 NFL season, and that mission was accomplished.
Fanatics Launches Retail Sportsbook
Fanatics has been one of the busiest companies in the sports betting industry this year as it made a huge move early this summer. Fanatics agreed to purchase the U.S. assets of PointsBet Sportsbook and that will allow it to launch in many states throughout the country.
Online sports betting is not the only focus of Fanatics though, and it’s trying to become a bigger name in the state of Ohio. At the end of August, Fanatics opened up a retail sportsbook in Columbus, and that should help it become a bigger name in the state.
