A spectacular second quarter for sportsbooks in the United States relentlessly continued as the Ohio Casino Control Comission and Ohio Lottery reported Thursday a combined $76.7 million in adjusted gross revenue (AGR) for sports betting in June.
Practically all of the winnings came from retail and mobile sportsbooks as lottery-run kiosks contributed less than $80,000 to that total. The number of kiosks in operation across Ohio dropped from more than 700 to 48 by the end of June as SportsBet Ohio ceased operations June 22.
Revenue surged 49.3% compared to last year, outpacing the 10.6% increase in handle to $586.9 million. The resulting 13.1% hold was the highest for Buckeye State operators since attaining a near-14% win rate in January 2024 and was the third-highest in 30 months of wagering.
The $930.5 million AGR for the just-completed Fiscal Year 2025 was up 11.5% from the previous 12-month period, resulting in an increase of $19.2 million in tax revenue for the state to $186.1 million. Despite the late surge in performance — operators had a hold just shy of 12% in May to claim nearly $89 million in winnings — the 9.6% win rate for FY 2025 was nearly nine-tenths of a percentage point lower versus FY 2024.
Big mobile books boast big holds
The overall hold on mobile wagers was 13.1%, but there was a clear line of demarcation between the haves and have-nots for June as all eight digital sportsbooks that generated a minimum of $10 million handle posted holds of 10% or higher.
Unsurprisingly, FanDuel was at the top of the list at 15.1% as it reaped $29.8 million in winnings from $196.8 million handle. Revenue was up 31.4% from June 2024, with handle climbing 23.4%. The online titan continued to spend freely, pacing all operators with $6.4 million in bonuses and credits.
Embattled ESPN Bet had the second-highest win rate at 15%, its best rout of the public since reaching 16.9% during its mid-November 2023 launch when combining numbers with predecessor Barstool Sportsbook. While the $2.7 million AGR represented a 55.6% increase, handle dipped 9.2% to $18.1 million.
DraftKings easily nailed down the No. 2 spots for revenue and handle, keeping $23.1 million of the near-$174 million in accepted wagers while notching a 13.3% hold. That pushed its all-time AGR in Ohio above $700 million as June marked the first time DraftKings eclipsed a 12% win rate in back-to-back months.
Bet365 and BetMGM were the only other operators to clear $5 million in AGR, with bet365 nearing $6 million and BetMGM totaling $5.3 million.
The England-based bet365 had a 10.3% hold on $57.7 million worth of wagers, but its $1.2 million promo outlay was its lowest since launch. Bet365 has spent $9.9 million in credits and bonuses in the calendar year, down 7% from the first six months of 2024.
BetMGM crafted a 13.2% hold from $40.2 million handle in its best month since claiming $6.5 million in revenue last November. It was the first time BetMGM eclipsed a 13% win rate since reaching 13.2% in September 2023.
Fanatics continued to win big and spend big, clearing $4 million AGR for the third straight month thanks to a 13.6% hold on $29.7 million handle. That was nearly triple its June 2024 AGR, and handle bounced 66.8%. Fanatics also continued to aggressively attract business. Its $1.3 million promo outlay represented a 47% increase from June 2024 and marked the 12th straight month it reached seven figures.
There were two silver linings for bettors. They won $484,143 above the $4.9 million wagered through Prime Sportsbook, and the BetMGM retail sportsbook at Great American Ballpark where the Cincinnati Reds play paid out $1.1 million more than the $8.1 million handle generated.
Carnage everywhere you look
To put June in perspective nationally, the $915.7 million in gross revenue reported thus far is already a record for the month in the post-PASPA era. That figure does not include Tennessee, which does not collect operator revenue data, and large-market states Illinois, Arizona, and Virginia that have yet to report.
Nevada is the only state of 26 that posted handle and revenue figures to report a sub-10% hold for June, though its 8.5% win rate is eighth-highest in state history post-PASPA. The average state hold for June is 13.4%, while the median is 13.2%.
The current 12.5% hold on $7.3 billion handle with $915 million gross revenue when excluding Tennessee and Nebraska figures is tracking more than eight-tenths of a percentage point above the post-PASPA record 11.7% reported in September 2018.
The nationwide handle and gross revenue totals from the five states with commercial wagering that month were $817.3 million and $95.7 million, respectively. By comparison, New York alone more than doubled those figures in June with $1.65 billion handle and $207.2 million in operator winnings.
The $3.34 billion in gross sportsbook revenue for the second quarter of this year is already 7.8% higher than 2024 despite missing Arizona’s April and May figures in addition to the six outstanding reports nationwide for June.
