Ohio sports betting spikes in October, second-highest month on record

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Ohio’s sports-betting companies in October smashed the 2024 sports-betting record set in September with the start of the regular NFL season and the first full month of college football.

Combined, the companies took in nearly $903 million of bets in October, according to data compiled from the Ohio Casino Control and Ohio Lottery commissions, an increase from $846 million in September. After paying out winnings and voided wagers, the companies generated over $80 million in revenue.

This makes October the highest month in 2024 in terms of bets placed. In total, Ohioans have placed nearly $7 billion in bets in 2024.

The only month with a stronger bet total was January 2023, when Ohio launched legal sports betting to the tune of $1.1 billion in bets. Around that time, betting apps had also flooded the market with $320 million of promotional credits.

In October, Ohio’s 19 mobile-betting apps took in most of the action, with a combined $882 million in bets, an increase from $842 million in September. However, those same apps only saw $80 million in revenue, a decrease from September’s reporting of $102 million in revenue.

The state’s 18 in-person betting lounges took in nearly $20 million in bets and came away with just over $1 million in revenue. Four betting lounges did not report revenue in October.

The Ohio Lottery’s betting kiosks in bars and restaurants took in $1.5 million of bets and had $133,000 in revenue.

Betting slowed in the spring and summer when football wasn’t in-season, but it’s unclear why, because Ohio does not require sports betting companies to report sport-specific data.

Still, Ohio’s sportsbooks keep reporting year-over-year increases. October was the seventh month in a row to see these gains, with $903 million in bets, up from $748 million in October 2023.

September saw $842 million in bets, up from $692 million in September 2023. August saw $549 million in bets, up from $380 million. July saw $477 million in bets, up from $332 million. June saw $530 million in bets, up from $364 million.

Revenue also continues to rise compared to 2023. Ohio’s sports-betting companies reported just over $81 million in revenue, up from $80 million in October.

In September, revenue grew to just under $106 million, up from $82 million last September. In August, revenue grew from $41 million to $49 million year-over-year. July revenue grew from $37 million to $55 million year-over-year and June saw $51 million, up from $33 million last year.

Reported revenue is the money companies are left with after paying out winnings and voided wagers. It doesn’t include expenses, like the overhead costs of running the sportsbooks.

Zachary Smith is the data reporter for cleveland.com. You can reach him at zsmith@cleveland.com.