CLEVELAND — When sports betting launched in Ohio in January, the state produced jaw-dropping numbers with more than $1.1 billion dollars wagered. But it was a figure that by June had shrunk by 67% to $362 million. Sportsbook operators, though, weren't panicked; they had their eye on September for one reason: football.
"Football is circled on everyone's calendar, fans and states alike because, well, it rules everything in sports betting," said Robert Linnehan, Sports Betting Regulation Expert and Editor of Sports Betting Dime.
Revenue figures released Tuesday by the Ohio Casino Control Commission show more than $690 million wagered on sporting events in Ohio. That's the third highest amount behind that January figure and $737 million wagered in March during March Madness and just ahead of the $639 million wagered in February fueled by the number one bet game of the year, the Super Bowl.
The $690 million wagered in September was a roughly 55% jump over August, and remember, the state recently doubled the tax they collect on those sports book winnings from 10 to 20%. So that means $16.3 million for state coffers.
That September fell behind January is not a surprise, says industry analyst Robert Linnehan; that's a record that may stand awhile.
"You had sort of the perfect storm of this is the first month that the state is offering sports betting; it's during the football season you had a lot going on."
In September, 97% of all bets were placed online, with Fan Duel and Draft Kings receiving the bulk of those bets, $207.8 million and $261.3 million, respectively. That means brick-and-mortar sportsbooks account for just 3% of the market. And Caesar's Sports Book inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse has actually paid out more in winnings in June, July and August than it took in in bets. Their luck reversed in September, and Linnehan suspects it will likely continue with the Cavs season now underway.
"There are going to be thousands of people there during the week when over the summer if you were going to go, you were going just to bet on sports. They were sort of your hardcore sports bettors," he said.
A lot going on in October heading into November to challenge those September numbers with football enhanced by the return of the NBA and the ongoing World Series.
