The first weekend of legal and regulated sports betting in Ohio was a busy time for many of the major sportsbooks that were launching when online and mobile app sport wagering went live in the Buckeye State on January 1.
According to data compiled by GeoComply, provider of geolocation and anti-fraud solutions for the U.S. iGaming industry, there were 11.3 million betting transactions taking place during New Year’s weekend from 784,000 unique sports betting accounts. There were 234,000 GeoComplay transfers in Ohio through the first hour of New Year’s Day.
The totals made Ohio the No. 1 sports betting state in the USA through the first two days of 2023. New York (9.3 million), Pennsylvania (8.2 million), New Jersey (6.7 million) and Michigan (5.8 million) were next in order.
“We are thrilled to welcome another state into the regulated online sports betting sector,” GeoComply SVP of Compliance Lindsay Slader said in a statement. “As expected, residents of the Buckeye State enthusiastically greeted the market at the moment the calendar changed over to 2023.”
There were 16 different online sports betting sites that went live in Ohio at 12:01 a.m. on January 1, including such major players as BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings and FanDuel.
Cincinnati Most Active Betting City
Among Ohio’s major metropolitan areas, Cincinnati was leading the way in terms of betting action played. GeoComply counted 1.9 million transactions during the first two days of January in the city that is home to the NFL Bengals and MLB Reds.
Next on the list was Columbus. No doubt spurred by Ohio State’s thrilling but heartbreaking 42-41 loss to No. 1-ranked Georgia in the Peach Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal, bettors in Columbus clicked in with just over one million transactions at 1.033 million. Columbus is also home to the Columbus Blue Jackets of the NHL.
Next was Cleveland. Home to the NFL Browns and NBA Cavaliers, Cleveland created 772,000 GeoLocation transactions. Toledo was in the fourth slot, with 619,000 GeoComply transfers.
What are the best legal sportsbooks in Ohio? bet365, betMGM, BetRivers, Caesars, Pointsbet.
