The Ohio Casino Control Commission and Ohio Lottery reported a combined total of $67.5 million in adjusted gross sports betting revenue for May on Monday as FanDuel continued its rampage against Buckeye State bettors.

Operator winnings were up 16.4% from last May, notably lagging behind the 36.9% surge in handle to $612.7 million as the still-robust 11% hold was nearly two full percentage points lower. Handle was down 9.1% from the $674.2 million wagered in April, while revenue slacked 8.8%. Ohio sportsbooks have combined to attain a double-digit hold in 13 of the 17 months of wagering since launching on New Year’s Day last year.

It was the eighth consecutive month handle surpassed $600 million, as the Buckeye State’s all-time total eclipsed $11 billion. The $3.58 billion wagered through the first five months of 2024 is up only 3.4% from last year, but there is more money being wagered by bettors, as the $131.4 million in promotional credits and bonuses represents a 72.1% downturn after mobile sportsbooks aggressively sought business during last year’s mass launch. The $20.4 million in promotional spend for May was down 11.7% from 12 months prior and up 1.7% from April.

The state collected an estimated $13.5 million in taxes as total receipts since launch topped $200 million. Nearly 75% of that amount, $156.6 million, has come in Fiscal Year 2024 after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine doubled the state’s tax rate to 20%. Tax receipts are running $26.4 million ahead of the 2023 calendar year pace.

1 New York $1.98B
2 New Jersey $838.9M
3 OHIO $612.7M
4 Penn. $591.9M
5 Mass. $587.3M
6 North Carolina $525.5M
7 Nevada $514.4M
8 Virginia $505.6M
9 Colorado $447.6M
10 Maryland $431.5M#SportsBettingX #GamblingX

— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) July 1, 2024

Though FanDuel missed out on taking the top spots for both handle and revenue for the first time since last October, it was comfortably atop the list for operator winnings. The digital dynamo fashioned a 15.3% hold in claiming $30.6 million in revenue from $199.8 million in handle.

Winnings were up 26.3% year-over-year as FanDuel made it 16 out of 17 months with a double-digit hold, and it was the sixth time it cleared a 15% win rate. FanDuel has an all-time hold of 14.4% in Ohio and is just shy of $565 million in all-time taxable revenue. It also had the highest promotional outlay among the 19 mobile sportsbooks at $8.2 million, an increase of 20.9% from May 2023.

DraftKings accepted $204.2 million worth of bets as it topped $200 million for the ninth straight month. It also has posted $20 million in revenue for all nine of those months, landing $104,800 above the benchmark in May thanks to a 9.9% hold. DraftKings had a smaller increase of promotional offers at 6.3% to $6.9 million.

England-based bet365 successfully fended off BetMGM to claim the final podium spots for both revenue and handle, notching a 10.5% win rate to reap $4.7 million in revenue from $45 million in bets. It also pocketed more of that revenue than the previous May — bet365’s promotional spend plunged almost 60% to $1.5 million, which was less than one-third of its May 2024 revenue. Last year, the $3.8 million in bonuses offered was more than 85% of its revenue that month.

BetMGM acquitted itself well in May with a hold of 8.3% to claim $3.4 million in winnings from $41.3 million in handle. It also had a sharp downturn in promotional outlay, with spending = down 61.7% to $1.2 million. BetMGM has posted at least $3 million in revenue for 10 consecutive months and in 15 of 17 overall.

ESPN BET was a strong fifth for revenue with $2.7 million, more than $1 million ahead of sixth-place Caesars despite the two swapping those spots for handle. ESPN BET had a 9.9% hold on $27.8 million handle whole Caesars had a more modest 5.6% win rate from $29.5 million worth of wagers. ESPN BET, whose parent PENN Entertainment has been the subject of rumors for a potential acquisition by Boyd Gaming, had its first sub-$1 million promotional spend in Ohio since its national rollout in mid-November.

Fanatics Sportsbook was the seventh and final sports betting app with a seven-figure haul for May, collecting $1.4 million in revenue from almost $19 million in handle as it crafted a 7.5% hold. Though its promotional spend dipped to a 2024 low of $768,800, it was still more than half its monthly winnings. Overall, Fanatics has had a promotional spend of $23.2 million against $19.5 million in revenue.

Nebraska does not publish handle figures in its monthly reports.#SportsBettingX #GamblingX

— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) July 1, 2024

Tipico, which was acquired by MGM Resorts last week, was next-highest in revenue at $420,000 and ranked third among mobile books with a 10.3% hold. Hard Rock Bet ($343,200) and Ohio-based betJACK ($308,600) rounded out the top 10 for revenue, with the former coming within $252,600 of $10 million in handle.

Bettors came out ahead against Prime Sportsbook and Betr in May, with Prime paying out $102,900 above its $2.8 million worth of bets accepted. It was the fourth losing month in 2024 for Prime, which is down $531,400 for the year with a minus-1.6% hold on $32.6 million in handle.

Betr’s $24,600 loss was its largest in Ohio, as it finished with a minus-11.1% hold on $220,700 worth of wagers. The microbetting-focused sportsbook co-owned by boxer and social media influencer Jake Paul paid out $4,680 above $430,500 in handle last October in its other losing month.

Ohio’s retail sportsbooks contributed $1.3 million to the revenue pie in May, but the state’s horse racing and auto racing tracks posted their second-largest monthly handle with $10.2 million worth of accepted bets. The only other occasion wagering reached eight figures at those venues was last November at $10.4 million. The group of seven combined for a 6.7% hold in collecting $676,700 in winnings.

Action at the state’s four casinos totaled $5.4 million, and the quartet picked up $524,600 in winnings as they combined for a 9.7% win rate. There was just over $1 million wagered through the state’s kiosks, with the Ohio Lottery reporting $74,400 in taxable winnings.