The Ohio Casino Control Commission and Ohio Lottery on Monday reported a combined $89 million in adjusted gross sports betting revenue for May as operators furthered the nationwide rout of the betting public for the month.
The overall collective hold between sportsbooks and kiosks was just shy of 12% from $742.2 million worth of wagers, the highest win rate since reaching 12.2% last September. The hold was up almost a full percentage point from last year as the 21.1% increase in handle contributed to a 31.8% rise in sportsbook winnings.
The state claimed $17.8 million in tax receipts, lifting the year-to-date total to $77.5 million. Revenue for the first five months of 2025 is practically flat compared to last year since the 8.9% overall hold is about 1.8 percentage points lower. Handle, meanwhile, has surged 20.6% to $4.32 billion, which trails only New York, Illinois, and New Jersey nationally.
With 29 of 32 states that report handle and revenue having published May figures, the 11.4% hold on gross revenue — $1.19 billion from $10.39 billion handle — is tracking to be the highest monthly national win rate since reaching 11.7% in September 2022.
FanDuel’s Ohio May massacres continue
| Year | Handle | Adjusted Gross Revenue | Hold |
| 2023 | $158,513,074 | $24,251,483 | 15.30% |
| 2024 | $199,844,971 | $30,627,727 | 15.33% |
| 2025 | $251,282,529 | $36,045,492 | 14.34% |
| TOTALS | $609,640,574 | $90,924,702 | 14.91% |
FanDuel has been the top mobile sportsbook for Ohio bettors, with the foundation set at launch in January 2023 when it dropped $168.7 million worth of promotional credits and bonuses. Its performance over those 29 months, though, has been equally impressive with a double-digit hold in all but three of them.
May marked the third time this year that FanDuel surpassed $35 million in monthly AGR, with the $36 million claimed up 17.7% compared to last year.
For the second straight year, sportsbooks in the Buckeye State received a huge boost with the Cleveland Cavaliers being eliminated in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA playoffs. In 2024, the Cavs were bounced in five games by the Boston Celtics; this year, it was the Pacers upsetting them in five games.
DraftKings had its best month of 2025 with $27.6 million AGR, and the 12.3% hold was its highest since a 13.4% win rate attained in January 2024. Though the $225.2 million handle was its low of 2025, it still represented a 10.3% year-over-year increase as revenue surged 37.4%.
The two mobile titans combined for $14.1 million in promotional spend for the month, representing 68% of the total $20.1 million outlay by the state’s 14 digital sportsbooks.
England-based bet365 continued to hold down the No. 3 spot for handle with $68.8 million, a 52.8% bounce from 2024. The $6.4 million AGR was a high for 2025, with the 9.4% hold contributing to a 37.3% increase in winnings.
Fanatics ($4.8 million) and BetMGM ($4.4 million) rounded out the top five for revenue among mobile operators, and the two books flipped spots for handle. Fanatics continued its aggressive push to acquire customers with a promotional outlay of $2 million, equal to 4.8% of its $41.4 million handle. BetMGM furnished $1.3 million in credits and bonuses as part of its $48 million worth of accepted wagers.
The only other operator with a seven-figure promotional spend for May was ESPN BET at $1.3 million, but the challenge to attain market share continued for the Penn Entertainment-run sportsbook. Its near-$25 million handle ranked seventh and was down 8% from last year. Despite the downturn in action, the $2.9 million AGR was up 5.8% as the 11.6% hold was its third-highest in Ohio since rebranding from Barstool Sportsbook in November 2023.
Crownings in the commonwealths
Virginia and Kentucky also eclipsed 12% holds on gross sports betting revenue for May. The Virginia Lottery reported $72.4 million in gross operator winnings Tuesday, its fourth-highest total in 53 months of wagering, fashioning a 12.2% hold. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission disclosed $26.2 million in gross sportsbook revenue, notching a 12.5% win rate from $209.6 million worth of wagers.
In the Old Dominion, revenue surged 20.7% compared to May 2024, outpacing the 17.7% increase in handle to $595 million. And in what is becoming a national trend among larger-market states this year, May marked the first time since last July that Virginia generated a higher monthly handle than Nevada.
The Virginia Lottery does not publish handle and revenue figures by operator but noted in its monthly release that 13 operators finished with positive AGR, resulting in $10.2 million worth of tax receipts. The $46.9 million inflow into coffers this year is running $8.1 million ahead of last year’s pace.
Operator revenue in Kentucky was up 21.3% year-over-year, while handle increased 15.6%. FanDuel narrowly claimed the top spot for revenue among the state’s seven mobile books, finishing $41,000 shy of $10 million while sporting a 14.5% hold from $68.9 million handle. That was also enough for FanDuel to surpass $200 million in total winnings there.
DraftKings was second at $9.4 million thanks to a 12.2% win rate from $76.9 million worth of wagers. It also cleared the $200 million plateau as the two juggernauts are separated by less than $3.3 million.
