May might have been the lowest wagering activity in 2024 for Ohio sports betting so far, but the latest performance figures still had some highlights to tout.
The Ohio Casino Control Commission released May’s wagering activity across all sportsbooks in Ohio. Sportsbooks in the Buckeye State have now nabbed $11.3 billion in bets since Ohio sports betting officially launched in January 2023.
May’s $612.7 million handle far outpaced the $447.5 million wagered in the same month last year, and operator winnings were up 16.4% from last May as well. Ohio sportsbooks drove $67.4 million in revenue from an 11% combined hold. This is two percentage points lower than May 2023’s 13% hold, but overall sportsbooks in Ohio have enjoyed 10%+ holds in 13 of the 17 months Ohio sports betting has been live.
Ohio sports betting revenue is now taxed at 20% thanks to Governor Mike DeWine’s FY2024-2025 budget changes, so state coffers brought in an estimated $13.5 million in taxes from May’s wagering activity. All time, Ohio sportsbooks have generated over $210 million in tax revenue for the state.
Both handle and revenue declined month-over-month compared to how the Ohio sports betting market performed in April. Operators achieved the same 11% hold percentage in both April and May though.
Best Ohio sportsbooks
Online sportsbooks in Ohio dominate the scene, and they hauled in $595.2 million in online bets in May. Operators earned $66.2 million from that action on a statewide 11.12% hold.
Retail sportsbooks collected $16.4 million in total handle and generated $1.26 million in taxable revenue.
DraftKings claimed the top spot for handle among the best online sportsbooks in Ohio, taking in $204.2 million in wagers. FanDuel was not too far behind with its $199.8 million online handle.
The rest of the pack is nowhere close though. Outside of the two top dogs, only four of the 19 online sportsbooks in Ohio captured eight figures worth of wagers, and another six are in the seven-figure range.
Six Ohio online sports betting sites did less than $1 million in handle.
| Operator | May Handle | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $204.2 million | $20.1 million |
| FanDuel | $199.8 million | $30.6 million |
| bet365 | $45.0 million | $4.7 million |
| BetMGM | $41.3 million | $3.4 million |
| Caesars Sportsbook | $29.5 million | $1.7 million |
| ESPN BET | $27.8 million | $2.7 million |
FanDuel’s cleared a 15% hold for the sixth time in the Ohio sports betting market and has achieved a double-digit hold in 16 out of 17 months. DraftKings has topped $200 million in wagers for nine consecutive months, generating more than $20 million in revenue in all nine of those months.
Ohio casino gaming
Gamblers in Ohio have wagered $421.5 million at Ohio casinos year-to-date, and $84.6 million of that came in May which was the second-highest total in 2024 so far.
Action is pretty evenly distributed among the four casinos in Ohio with the high handle of $23.6 million at Hollywood Columbus being just about $4 million separated from the low of $19.2 million at Hollywood Toledo.
Buckeye State bettors love the slots, tossing a whopping $828.9 million into the 6,627 slot machines across the state in May which generated $62.4 million in slot revenue for Ohio casinos. The table drop was $100.2 million, netting $22.2 million in revenue.
