Ohio Matching Pennsylvania Betting Handle

When any newly legalized sports betting state of notable size joins the national picture, there is considerable interest in its level of activity, and Ohio impressed on a massive scale with its January debut.

The Buckeye State (seventh largest in the U.S.) joined New York, New Jersey, and Illinois as states with billion-dollar sportsbook handles, surpassing the volume of wagering in the nation’s gambling capital of Nevada. The $1.11 billion wagered by Ohio’s sports enthusiasts in January was $342 million more than their peers in the neighboring, bigger state of Pennsylvania.

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Now that spring has arrived, and there are three additional months of statewide sportsbook handle in the mix, it’s clear just how much of an outlier that first month was — driven by the $320 million in sportsbook promotional giveaways in Ohio and less tangible factors such as pent-up demand and heavy media advertising by online operators promoting the new product.

Based on more normalized betting activity in February, March, and April — with promotional giveaways steadily diminishing to the point of just $24.2 million in the last month of reporting by the Ohio Casino Control Commission — Ohio won’t be a New York-New Jersey-Illinois-Nevada type of state. Its April volume of $521 million was its lowest yet.

It appears Ohio’s level of the future handle will be similar to or a little behind Pennsylvania’s and somewhat larger than Michigan’s, which makes sense given factors such as population and the number of local pro and college teams in each state that may help motivate bettors.

It puts Ohio in the range of $7 billion to $8 billion in combined annual online and in-person wagering on sports. That may be only half the amount of what’s wagered in New York and three-fourths the level of New Jersey and Illinois, though it’s not to suggest anything shabby or disappointing about it.

The new, clearer impression of Ohio’s future in this realm comes from analyzing the $1.9 billion in total bets taken there in February-April compared to the $1.11 billion in January alone.

In all states, the shorter, post-football (except Super Bowl) month of February generates less betting than January. Then there’s another rise in March by virtue of the NCAA Tournament, followed by another dip in April.

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