Ohio sports betting market debuts with 11.3M transactions during New Year's weekend, being the busiest in the country

According to geolocation and anti-fraud solutions provider GeoComply, Ohio was the busiest regulated market in the US over the New Year’s holiday weekend, recording 11.3 million geolocation transactions through January 1 and 2. 

Legal sports wagering launched in Ohio on January 1, with FanDuel, BetMGM, DraftKings, bet365, Caesars, and Hard Rock among the brands that went live on the opening day. Across the first two days of activity, GeoComply recorded 11.3 million geolocation transactions from 783,868 unique accounts, in a state with a population of 11.8 million people. 

This was more than the 9.3 million transactions recorded in New York, which has a larger population of 19.8 million and is the current US market leader. It was also above other established markets such as Pennsylvania with 8.2 million transactions, New Jersey with 6.7 million and Michigan with 5.8 million. Ohio was also ahead of neighboring states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan, as well as Indiana with 2.4 million transactions and West Virginia with 800,000.

As stated by GeoComply, Cincinnati was the busiest city in Ohio across the two opening days, with 1.9 million transactions, ahead of Columbus with 1 million transactions, and Cleveland with 772,000. The company also noted that 234,000 transactions were recorded during the first hour of legal betting in the state on New Year’s Day. 

Lindsay Slader, GeoComply’s senior vice president of compliance, commented: “As expected, residents of the Buckeye State enthusiastically greeted the market at the moment the calendar changed over to 2023."

"Today, about 44% of the American population can bet online with legal and responsible operators," she added. “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 critical state programs." 

A total of 12 licensed retail sportsbooks and 16 online sportsbooks officially opened for business on January 1. More parties also greenlighted to conduct sports betting by the state’s Casino Control Commission will launch throughout the year.