Ohio sports betting handle totals $1.1bn in first month
Sportsbooks recorded $208.9m in revenue in January.
US.- Ohio sports betting handle was just over $1.1bn in January, the first month of regulated operations. The vast majority of bets were made online or through sportsbooks’ apps. with just $22.9m wagered at Ohio’s retail locations.
Sportsbooks recorded $208.9m in revenue. With Ohio’s 10 per cent tax rate, the state made around $20.89m. Sports bettors won more than $883m, and sportsbooks gave away almost $320m in promotions, according to the Ohio Casino Control Commission‘s figures.
Ohio was the most active regulated market in the US over the New Year’s holiday weekend, according to the geolocation data firm GeoComply. The state registered 11.3 million geolocation transactions on January 1 and 2.
After three years of debate, Ohio approved sports betting in December 2021. Governor Mike DeWine signed legislation to allow sports betting in the state following approval of House Bill 29 by the House and Senate.
Ohio governor aims to double sports betting tax rate
Ohio governor Mike DeWine is already looking to double the state’s tax rate for sports betting. In his executive budget, DeWine proposed changing Ohio’s sports betting tax rate from 10 per cent to 20 per cent.
The revenue would go to schools for athletics and extracurricular activities, to tackle problem gambling and to cover the administrative costs of overseeing sports betting, including monitoring ads for sports gambling apps.
