The Ohio Casino Control Commission and Ohio Lottery reported a combined $967.4 million in sports betting handle for September as the Buckeye State continued the month-long trend of a solid but unspectacular month for sportsbooks.
All but $424,500 of handle and $58,030 of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) came from sportsbooks across the state as a limited number — 49, to be exact — of kiosks remain in operation in Ohio. Handle was up 11.9% from last year and the fifth-highest in 33 months of wagering.
AGR, however, plunged 26.8% to $77.8 million as the 8%-plus hold was more than 4.25 percentage points lower than September 2024. Favorable NFL results for the betting public combined with the Ohio State Buckeyes rolling through their three games for the month and the Cleveland Guardians and Cincinnati Reds making playoff pushes helped keep operators in check. The Guardians in particular made it a September to remember by going 20-7 for the month and rallying to the AL Central title.
The state collected $15.6 million in tax receipts from operators for September, but the $42.1 million collected for the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2026 is practically flat compared to the same three-month period for FY 2025. The 9.7% hold in that span is 1.4 percentage points lower this year, helping cancel out a 14.4% increase in wagering to $2.16 billion.
September spend strikes again
In some respects, bet365’s rise to prominence in the U.S. begins with Ohio. It was the first large-market state where the England-based sportsbook had equal footing with a simultaneous launch on New Year’s Day 2023, and its relentless promotional spend in the Buckeye State has provided the same type of longevity — so far — that Caesars enjoyed with its overwhelming promotional offer when New York launched mobile wagering in January 2022.
The $46.7 million total outlay of credits and bonuses by mobile operators was down 2.1% year-over-year, but bet365 bucked that trend to a degree with a 7.2% increase in spend to a year-high $5.4 million. That trailed only FanDuel ($17.7 million) and DraftKings ($15.3 million) and was also more than double fourth-place Fanatics ($2.4 million) as bet365 continued to hold down the No. 3 spot for Ohio action.
Its 11.5% year-over-year bump in handle to $75.8 million helped limit its revenue downturn to 11% at $6.8 million. Bet365 finished with a near-9% win rate, which was off 2.25 percentage points from the previous September. Its true net revenue when subtracting promotional spend was $1.4 million — only $42,352 more than it remitted to the state.
Though FanDuel ceded the top spot for handle to eternal rival DraftKings, it came out No. 1 for revenue thanks to a strong 10.7% hold that generated $32.8 million AGR from $306.1 million worth of wagers. It was the sixth straight month with a double-digit hold for FanDuel, but revenue slipped 16.2% from last year.
DraftKings came within $1.3 million of its all-time Ohio handle high of nearly $344 million in January 2023, but an all-time low hold of 6.3% meant only $21.6 million in taxable revenue. Winnings plunged 42.3% from 12 months ago, and its year-to-date AGR of $207.7 million is up only 0.5% compared to 2024.
The two leviathans also swapped leaderboard spots for promotional spend compared to last year. FanDuel’s outlay was up 23.1%, while DraftKings pulled back by 17.1%. The pair have spent a combined $95 million on credits and bonuses for bettors in the three Septembers doing business in Ohio.
Fanatics targeting BetMGM on handle ladder?
As bet365 and Fanatics continue to spend aggressively, BetMGM has gone in the other direction. Its $1.9 million outlay was down 36.5% from a year ago, and the $13.6 million spend in the calendar year is 20.6% lower.
BetMGM, though, has shown staying power. Handle still climbed 15.2% to $60.4 million, but BetMGM also weathered a September revenue downturn as its $4.1 million AGR was off 26.8%. The 6.7% win rate marked the fifth time this year it was below 7% in Ohio.
Fanatics has nearly matched its promotional spend for all of last year at $15 million, with its $2.4 million in September up 6.2%. Handle, however, surged 47.1% to $52.3 million. That trails only the $54.6 million worth of accepted wagers last November since it entered Ohio in April 2023.
But it was a rougher September compared to the other big books for Fanatics. A 5.4% hold ended a four-month run of double-digit win rates and sent AGR spiraling down 20.7% to $2.8 million.
ESPN Bet pipped Fanatics to complete the top five for taxable revenue, posting a near-10% hold to reap $2.9 million in winnings from $29.1 million handle. The Penn National branded sportsbook did not see much of a rise in action — 1.5% — despite a 61.4% increase in promotional spend to nearly $1.5 million.
