2024 NFL Season Having Huge Impact on Ohio Sports Betting

The NFL regular season is apparently a boon for Ohio sports betting. Again.

The Buckeye State recently released their September 2024 gambling data, and frankly, the returns are staggering. According to Cleveland.com’s Zachary Smith, sportsbooks in Ohio reported a 58 percent increase compared to the same month in 2023.

This increase is mind blowing. Sure, online sports betting in the United States remains on the rise. And yes, exponential year over year growth is common in younger markets such as The Buckeye State. Ohio sports betting did not go live until January 2023. So, this is just the second time they have offered legal wagering in time for betting on the NFL regular season.

Even so, this is a massive uptick. Does it speak to anything specific? And does it say anything about the overall future of sports betting in Ohio moving forward? Let us further explore the data and find out.

It Isn’t Just NFL Football Fueling a Rise in Ohio Sports Betting

As Smith notes for Cleveland.com, betting on the NFL is not the only factor driving this revenue climb. It is also owed to betting on college football. 

The Buckeye State has seen more action than ever in their NCAAF betting markets. And for the month of September, college football hits a sweet spot. The season remains young enough for the college football futures market to be inundated, but it is also old enough for interest in single-game wagering to reach fever pitch.

Combine this with the sheer appeal of the NFL season, and you have a recipe for increases in Ohio sports betting. 

And yet, once more, even this type of growth flies in the face of typical trends. A 58 percent rise is categorically brain-bending. 

As many will point out, though, revenue can seriously fluctuate regardless of market size or age. Sportsbooks pay out more winning wagers than others in many months. Their bottom line is directly related to how successful their users are when placing bets. But while that is a valid point, it doesn’t fully explain, let alone excuse, the rise.

Remember, bettors tend to place more bets on teams in their market to win. That is how fandom works after all. Devout belief is part and parcel of the experience. Especially early in the season, as the NFL was in September.

If you will recall, though, the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns won a combined two games during the month of September. With records like that, Ohio sports bettors should have technically lost a good amount of money. This is all to say: The increase in Ohio sports betting revenue does not seem like a fluke or one-month blip. In our opinion, it says more about the volume of overall betting.

Accessibility Drives Sports Betting Engagement in The Buckeye State

So what would be the reason for Ohio sports betting to see starkly more overall volume? There is not a one-size-fits-all answer. But we would bet anything accessibility plays a role.

Consider all the methods by which Ohioans can wager. Think about what all those different options do for the number of customers and the amount of money being gambled. As Smith writes, the proof is in the revenue:

“This makes September the highest month in 2024 in terms of bets placed and the highest since November 2023, which had $865 million. In total, Ohioans have placed just over $6 billion in bets in 2024. Ohio’s 19 mobile-betting apps took in most of the action, with a combined $842 million in bets and $102 million in revenue, a massive increase from August’s reporting of $535 million in bets and $47 million in revenue. The state’s 18 in-person betting lounges took in nearly $21 million in bets and came away with just over $3 million in revenue. Three betting lounges did not report revenue in September. The Lottery’s betting kiosks, found in bars and restaurants, took in $1.2 million of bets and had $111,000 in revenue.”

The extent of Ohio’s transactional optionality is on full display here. They do not just have in-person sportsbooks at venues and online sports betting apps. They have kiosks and lounges, which can be found not just at casinos but local bars and restaurants. This is a unique level of accessibility. Customers have so many different options from which to choose, which means the market is bound to cast a wider demographic-al net.

Ohio Sports Betting Market Nevertheless Dependent on Football

Whether this accessibility speaks to a macro trend will be a matter of course. Ohio sports betting will need to be tracked over a span of months and years before drawing any profound conclusions.

Still, it does seem the state is nevertheless dependent on football to drive sports betting interest. The volume at which Ohioans wagered dropped significantly over the summer, according to data compiled by the Ohio Casino and Control Commissioner.

This is no different from most other markets. July and August are slow months in the sports calendar. But if Ohio’s revenue drops more than the country average again next year before skyrocketing during football season, it will downplay the impact accessibility is having on the numbers.

Then again, if this year over year and month over month exponential growth continues past February, after the football season is over, circumstances will warrant a larger discussion. The topic, in that case? How the Ohio sports betting market structure serves as a blueprint that many others may begin to follow.

Take a look at this list of the top online sportsbooks so you can find one that works for all of your sports betting needs: