Ohio’s sports betting companies see big August, compared to 2023

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Ohio’s sports betting companies say gamblers placed $549 million of bets in August, a big uptick compared to last year.

Combined, the companies had reported just $380 million in bets in August 2023, according to compiled data from the Ohio Casino Control and Ohio Lottery commissions. While the summer is usually a slow season for sports betting, Ohio’s sportsbook keep reporting year-over-year increases.

July saw $477 million in bets, up from $332 million in 2023. June saw $530 million in bets, up from $348 million.

Revenue is following the same trend. In total Ohio’s sports-betting companies reported just under $49 million in revenue, up from about $ 41 million last August. In July revenue grew from $37 million to $55 million year-over-year; June saw $51 million, up from $33 million.

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.

What makes all of these numbers tricky is that promotional dollars — like the bet $5, get $200 in bonus bets deals seen in 2023 — are treated like real bets and real revenue in the data. Sportsbooks have given out less of these promotions in 2024.

A few of the companies accepting bets have closed up shop this year, including Tipico and Betway.

Through eight months months, Ohioans have bet $5.1 billion on sports, up from $4.5 billion at this time last year. Revenue overall is down for the year. The sports betting companies have reported $539 million of revenue so far in 2024, down from $617 million at this point in 2023.

Betting data is released about 30 days after a month ends, which is why August’s figures came out in October. NFL regular season games did not start until September.

Sean McDonnell is the business reporter for cleveland.com and the Plain Dealer. You can reach him at smcdonnell@cleveland.com.