Ohio reports record casino and racino revenue in September; NFL season drives sports betting jump

In a landmark month for Ohio's gambling industry, the state's casinos and racinos hit a new revenue record in September, collecting a total of $191.9 million from table games and slot machines, surpassing the previous record of $188.6 million from September 2022. This 1.7% increase excludes revenue from sports betting, which also saw a significant jump due to the start of the NFL season and college football.

The 11 gambling facilities, which include four casinos with a variety of table games and slot machines and seven racinos that offer only video lottery terminals (VLTs), performed diversely.

The Greater Cleveland region, for instance, witnessed overall growth, with both JACK-branded properties seeing revenue increases. JACK Cleveland Casino saw its revenue rise marginally to $21.96 million, while JACK Thistledown Racino posted a 3.6% increase, raking in $15.4 million. In contrast, MGM Northfield Park experienced a 3.6% decrease in revenue, totaling $22.8 million.

Meanwhile, sports betting, legalized on January 1 this year, was also up with almost $692 million wagered in September, making it the third largest month of the year in terms of betting volume, behind only March ($739 million) and January ($1.1 billion).

This figure resulted in revenue of $81.6 million for the month, up 82%. In total, Ohioans have placed more than $5 billion in bets in 2023 thus far.

The 20 mobile sports betting apps dominated the month, responsible for $668 million in bets and $79 million in revenue, higher than the previous month, when $364 million in wagers and $39 million in revenue were recorded. A highlight of the month was the launch of digital sportsbook Prime Sports, which began accepting bets in September.

The state's 16 in-person sportsbooks handled $22 million in bets in September, generating revenues of just over $2 million. At the same time, Lottery betting kiosks in bars and restaurants collected around $1.3 million in bets, resulting in revenue of $104,000.

However, not all the news was positive, with two sports betting operations, including the Cleveland Guardians sportsbook in downtown Cleveland and the Fanatics sportsbook in Columbus, reporting negative revenues in September.