-
Casinos for you
Ohio Wagering Debuts With 11.3M Geo-transactions Over New Year’s Weekend
By Jeff Osienya Jan 07, 2023 IndustryAs the newest kid on the regulated sports wagering block, Ohio has already shattered records after registering 11.3 million geolocation transactions during its debut. From the look of things, we have a new contender for USA’s sports betting crown.The Buckeye State got off to a flying start when legal sports betting was ushered in on January 1, the dawn of the New Year 2023. According to GeoComply, the state recorded a resounding 11.3 million geolocation transactions from January 1 to January 2, officially a new national record.
While we have yet to receive official communication from the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC), the figures available by GeoComply are pretty satisfying to the larger US gambling scene. GeoComply is a leading software company that protects against fraud while providing secure and accurate geolocation services for US sports betting websites and mobile apps.
It’s worth pointing out that GeoComply’s figures have been announced to determine the early performance of Ohio’s sports betting market, and the actual numbers will perhaps be revealed in February. Jessica Franks, a spokesperson for the Ohio Casino Control Commission, said that the sports operators do not report their earnings to the state until the 15th of each month. So, we may be looking at February 15 as the tentative date when the complete picture will be drawn.
A Sports Betting Giant in the Making
Being the top sports betting market in a country that loves its wagering was no mean feat by any standards. To put things into perspective, according to GeoComply data Ohio’s activity edged that of heavyweights like New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Michigan over a similar launch period. For instance, the Empire State recorded 9.3 million geolocation transactions, whereas the Keystone State registered 8.2 million over the first two days of the industry’s debut.
Touting Ohio’s impressive numbers, GeoComply’s Senior Vice President of compliance Lindsay Slader said:
Quote“We are thrilled to welcome another state into the regulated online sports betting sector. As expected, residents of the Buckeye state enthusiastically greeted the market at the moment the calendar was changed over 2023… Today, about 44% of the American population can bet online with legal and responsible operators. The launch of regulated online sports betting in Ohio will better protect its citizens with an increased commitment to responsible gambling and new funding for crucial state programs.”
Breaking Down the Stellar Numbers
The enthusiasm of the Buckeyes was pretty evident from the get-go. At 12:01 am on January 1, 2023, Ohio’s regulated sports betting launch kicked off with about 784,000 individual accounts registering for the wagering activities. Within the first hour of sports betting activity, over 234,000 geolocation transactions were recorded by GeoComply.
Cincinnati was the busiest city in the state, recording 1.89 million geological transactions over the weekend. Columbus, Cleveland, and Toledo were the other cities with the most activity, having registered approximately 1,033,000, 772,000, and 619,000 geolocation transactions over the two-period, according to GeoComply.
What make’s Ohio’s performance even more impressive is that these numbers do not include wagers made at physical locations like betting lounges, kiosks, and bars. Meanwhile, it’s worth pointing out that Cincinnati’s high numbers could, to some extent, be explained by another factor. A user near the state’s borders is likely to need verification more than once to ascertain they are operating within the confines of the Buckeye State’s borders.
Whatever the case, the numbers do indeed paint a rosy picture of Ohio’s potential, with 11.3 million geolocation transactions recorded from a population of 11.8 million. And, of course, the numbers are expected to get even better with new stakeholders joining the fold in the future. However, it remains to be seen how long the numbers continue to rise until they attain a stable level.
Upon market launch, 16 sportsbooks subsequently went live in Ohio, including juggernauts like FanDUel, DraftKings, Caesars, Bet365, Betfred, Betway, Barstool, and PoinstsBet. Several retail sports wagering locations also opened their doors to sports bettors on the first day of the year, including:
- Belterra Park
- Hard Rock Cincinnati
- Hollywood Casino Columbus
- Hollywood Gaming Dayton Raceway
- Jack Cleveland
- Jack Thistledown
- Scioto Downs
Additionally, about 1,500 businesses received approval to operate as kiosks as the year started, with 1,000 of them obtaining the required licenses to operate as such. More parties are expected to receive approval from the state’s Casino Control Commission and will certainly jump into the sports betting bandwagon as the year progresses.
Notices of Violations Already Issued to Some Operators
Overall, the launch was deemed successful, but a few cases put a stain on the newly found sports wagering glory in the Buckeye State. The OCCC’s regulatory gaze took note of four operators that it deemed in violation of state laws. One of these companies may even see its license revoked after suspected involvement in illegal gambling activity.
In a strongly worded retort to these violations, Jessica Franks, the Communications Director of the OCCC, said:
Quote“We gave them explicit guidance twice in the week before the launch, including some examples of the issues we were seeing and how those need to be fixed, and so the fact that we continue to see repeated violations is very disappointing to the commission and is why we need to take action against some of our operators to get them into compliance.”
You might also like