CLEVELAND — For only the second time since sports betting launched in Ohio in January 2023, the state saw more than $1 billion wagered in a single month.

Revenue figures released by the Ohio Casino Control Commission showed $1.024 billion wagered before all winning bets were paid. That’s an 18.5% increase over November 2023, second only to the $1.1 billion wagered in that inaugural month.

Online continues to be king, with 98% of that total, $1.003 billion, wagered online, with the lion’s share of that going through FanDuel with $351 million and DraftKings with $329 million.

The state’s 16 brick-and-mortar or Type B sportsbooks earned just $20.8 million, highlighting the wide gap between the two.

“I just use my phone,” said Scott, a sports bettor News 5 spoke with in Cleveland. “It’s a convenience factor for me so instead of going somewhere you just do it from the comfort of your own home.”

He said he’s never been to a physical sportsbook and has no desire to.

“Nope, no chance,” he said.

The lack of foot traffic was a factor in the decision last fall by the Caesars and the Cleveland Cavaliers to shut down the sportsbook that opened in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Jan. 2, 2023. For ten of its 21 months, it paid out more money in bets than it took in. The space was converted before the start of the NBA season into the Caesars Rewards Club.

The team told News 5, “Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse prides itself on keeping our fans’ needs top of mind. With that, we were able to reimagine the Caesars Sportsbooks to become a new, premium space for Cavs United Members (Caesars Rewards Club [rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com]). The new Caesars Rewards Club has received rave reviews from fans for its access and space, as well as its curated food and beverages.

“The Cleveland Cavaliers and Caesars Sportsbook remain committed to providing new, dynamic experiences for all fans who visit Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Sports wagering is still available via the Caesars Sportsbook mobile app for users 21 and older at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and across the state of Ohio.”

The gap between online and in-person wagering was something News 5 discussed in 2024 with JACK Entertainment’s Senior V.P. of Government Affairs after he spoke in Columbus to legislatures considering the future of gaming in the state.

“If you look at the sports betting numbers in Ohio, all of the retail situations are dismal, the numbers aren’t there.”

Dan Reinhard, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at Jack Entertainment, said it shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

“Look at any of our local malls, look at our empty storefronts. When the younger generation becomes accustomed to online shopping, online this, online that, retail suffers,” he said.

It’s a habit that’s tough to break, they’ve found, even when customers actually come into their sportsbooks to take in the Vegas-like experience.

“We’ve got great sportsbooks at JACK Thistledown and JACK Casino, people love them but they sit there and they bet on their phone because that’s what they’re accustomed to,” he said.

As a result, several groups that purchased licenses for brick-and-mortar sportsbooks have yet to open them. That’s why industry analyst Geoff Zochodne of Covers.com says he wouldn’t be surprised to see the legislature in 2025 take steps to level the playing field, such as possibly lowering the tax physical sportsbooks pay on earnings from the current 20% back to the original 10.

“Because these facilities they provide jobs, they provide entertainment options and if that levy were lowered you would have more success for them and encourage others to open them,” Zochodne said.

“Ohio’s been very successful in its regulatory and legislative willingness to tinker and adapt its framework to issues it might see in the market,” he said. “Once sports betting is legalized that’s in some ways just the start it’s not the end of everything. This is an evergreen process where technology changes, betting changes, new operators come in, old operators leave and so you need to have that willingness I think to tinker.”

In its first year of sports betting, Ohio saw more than $7.6 billion wagered.

Ohioans wager more than $7.6 billion in sports betting’s first year

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