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Although the state’s four brick-and-mortar casinos mostly just worked to keep up, the availability of legal sports betting in Ohio made all the difference during August. As was expected, August 2023 is now the Ohio gaming industry’s most lucrative month ever.
Casinos remain on pace to match or slightly top what they did in 2022 amid the introduction of regulated sports betting. For certain, though, 2023 should be the most lucrative year for Ohio’s gaming industry yet.
Ohio gambling reaches new August peak
Revenue for Ohio’s four physical casinos was flat in August 2023 compared to its predecessors. In August 2022, for example, revenue from poker, slots, and table games at the four properties came to $84.2 million.
That was before legal sportsbooks opened for business in Ohio, however. The onset of such gambling came in January of this year. For that reason, adding taxable revenue from sports wagering pushed this year’s version of August over the top for a new record.
August’s casino numbers were also strong enough to keep the calendar year, as a whole, on pace to be the facilities’ best year yet. July’s gaming revenue in Ohio was the fourth-best month of 2023 so far. August pushed the running total for the year to over $680.3 million.
That’s slightly ahead of the sum through the first eight months of 2022. Should the casinos continue their current growth rate over the last four months of the year, they might eke out a new annual record.
Sportsbooks are just working on setting an initial bar for themselves in Ohio.
Ohio sports bettors welcome college football
According to the Ohio Casino Control Commission’s August revenue report, bettors gambled over $378.7 million on sports during August. That is the highest total since May and signaled a reinvigorated interest with the Ohio State Buckeyes’ American football team back in action.
Sportsbooks won almost 12% of the dollars wagered during August for a strong month. If they can keep that rate up, the rest of the year should be solid with the National Football League back in season.
The current calendar year could prove to be the most lucrative to date for Ohio’s gambling industry. Through the first eight months, everything is looking great.
