Ohio handle drops 30% in April as March Madness gains subside
Buckeye State sportsbooks net $63.8m in revenue during month and is on course to become one of the top three states for sports betting in the US
Ohio sportsbooks raked in $520.6m in handle during April, according to latest figures released by the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC).
The figure was down 30% month-over-month from the $737.2m reported in March, when the industry benefited from a surge in betting during the NCAA’s March Madness college basketball tournament.
For the year to date Ohio has racked up more than $3bn in handle and $450m in revenue, with the state likely to become one of the top three sports betting markets in the US if the current trajectory continues throughout the year.
Ohio’s market was dominated in April by online sports betting apps, accounting for more than 97% of the market and $505.6m of handle collected during the month.
Online operators generated $62.2m in revenue during the month, with US heavyweights FanDuel and DraftKings continuing their domination of the Buckeye State sportsbook market.
FanDuel received $184.5m in handle during the month, generating $27.9m in revenue and accounting for a 36.5% share of the Ohio market. This was just ahead of DraftKings, which reported $161.8m in handle and $17.2m in revenue, or 31.2% of the Ohio market.
Best of the rest during April were BetMGM with $38.1m in handle, ahead of bet365 with $36.9m and Caesars with $27.4m in handle over the month.
As for its online counterpart, Ohio’s retail sportsbooks saw a similar decline in handle of 32% month-over-month to $14.9m from a March high of $21.9m.
The state’s retail sportsbook operators collected $1.5m in revenue over the month.
In respect of operators, the Hard Rock Sportsbook in Cincinnati generated the most revenue over the month with $395,504, but took only $2.8m in handle, just behind Barstool’s Hollywood Columbus sportsbook with $2.9m in handle but only $69,113 in revenue.
BetJack’s Jack Hollywood sportsbook took bronze medal position in the month, receiving $1.6m in handle and generating $263,021 in revenue over the course of April.