The 6-month report on Ohio’s foray into legalized sports betting

According to Axios Columbus, sports betting cross the state declined over the course of the year as launch-centric promotions faded and many major sports events (NFL and college football in particular) ended. Still, according to gambling industry trackers Covers, more money was wagered in Ohio than Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Virginia.

Axios quoted Danny Cross, managing editor of PlayOhio, a website that reports on and advocates for sports betting, as saying “things have gone quite well.”

What does “quite well” look like?

According to state reports, Ohioans wagered more than $3.8 billion – that’s billion with a “b” – in the first six months of legalized gambling. Sports books earned $539 million of that, about 14%. For context, Ohioans spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 million – that’s million with an “m” – each year on lottery tickets.

Probably no surprise, but Axios reported that 97% of that $3.8 billion was wagered online. FanDuel not only took the largest share of the overall bet (or “handle”) with 39% but also brought in the biggest share of the revenue with 46.5% of the total.

All eyes are on the Fall with football starting up. For Ohioans, this will be the first year fans can legally bet on the Ohio State-Michigan game, not to mention the full slate of NFL and other NCAA games.