One Ohio Native’s Sports Betting Experience During First Week of Launch

Sports betting has been live in Ohio for less than a week, and the market is off to a strong start. 

For many Ohio sports fans, their heart was ripped right out of their chest as the Ohio State Buckeyes missed a potential game-winning field goal to send them to the National Championship game the second the calendar turned to 2023 and sports betting launched in the state.

Still, Ohio is projected to be one of the top sports betting states in the country because of the many approved apps, casinos, and professional sports teams, and the people of Ohio delivered on those expectations. 

Strong Start for Sports Betting in Ohio

According to GeoComply, a company that tracks sports betting transactions, Ohio saw 11.3 million unique sports betting transactions in the first two days of launch, which was the most in the country throughout that period. During the first hour of sports betting in Ohio, there were roughly 234,000 transactions recorded. 

For reference, New York ranked second in geolocation transactions with 9.3 million. 

Of all the major sports betting markets within the state, Cincinnati came up as the winner of the first weekend as it saw just under two million transactions, with Columbus in second at one million transactions, and Cleveland next with 772,000 transactions. 

With the Cincinnati Bengals once against taking home the AFC North crown, sports betting is only going to continue to grow in Cincinnati as the city gears up for another run to the Super Bowl. 

However, Ohio lost out on most of the football season, and with Ohio State’s Peach Bowl loss, and the Cleveland Browns already eliminated from the playoffs, the Bengals remain the last Ohio football team that has a chance at competing for a championship. 

Ohio Sportsbook App Reviews: Experiences From the First Week 

New Year’s Day was special to me, as a sports betting writer located in Ohio, and many others for a few reasons. First of all, it’s another New Year filled with friends, family, and good times. Also, all the top-tier online sportsbooks became available in Ohio. 

If you are like me and take full advantage of the promotions offered in Ohio, you have had plenty of bonuses to litter the board with picks. There is still time to claim your welcome offers. 

With all of these online sports betting options available, you may be asking which one is the best and what has worked well in the short time that sports betting has been live in Ohio.

What Went Well?

At the exact moment Ohio State lost the Peach Bowl to Georgia, sports betting went live in Ohio. Like many of my fellow Ohio folk, I stared into space for about 20 minutes before making a single move. The next move was to check the app folder on my phone with all the sportsbooks I had signed up for. Every bonus I qualified for was already in my account, and the odds boosts for the NFL on New Year’s Day were ready for some action.

Everything ran smoothly at the beginning, except for some sportsbook apps being slow due to high traffic. But now that we are almost a week into legalized sports betting, the 16 mobile sportsbooks have been simple to navigate and easy to withdraw from.

What About the Bad?

I have had good experiences outside a few apps lagging since launch day. 

However, the Ohio Casino Control Commission has already had to lay down the law, as it has sent BetMGM, Caesars, and DraftKings notices of violations carrying a $150,000 fine each for violating marketing rules.

This is not the first violation to be handed down in Ohio, as DraftKings has been served notification of a fine for marketing to individuals under the age of 21, and Barstool Sportsbook received a notice for a $250,000 fine for also targeting underage people during the Barstool Sports College Football Show in Toledo. 

Which Sportsbook Won the Ohio Launch?

FanDuel and DraftKings are the clear winners of the Ohio launch, not because they are two of the highest-rated sportsbooks in the country, but the odds boosts they offered in Ohio have been tremendous. 

Both sportsbooks have offered odds boosts tied to a specific team. For example, odds were boosted to +100 for the Browns to score just one point, which means you could have doubled your money if that happened. While these odds boosts have a max-bet amount, if you have been taking advantage of these offers, there is a good chance you have turned a profit since launch. 

How Do I Get In On The Action?

There are still plenty of offers for you to claim, and here we list the top Ohio sports betting apps and their sign-up promos and bonuses.