Ohio will be No.1 US sports betting state in 2023, says BonusFinder
Following its launch on January 1, 2023, Ohio will rocket to the top of the rankings as the leading sportsbook-only state in the US for betting consumers in 2023, BonusFinder.com research has found.
Figures out today from BonusFinder.com’s 2023 Sportsbook Bonus Index show that a combination of factors including one of the largest number of pre-approved licensees (25; second only to Colorado) in the US sports betting market such as YouTube star Jake Paul’s Betr; six professional sports teams across MLB, NBA, NHL and the NFL, plus one of the country’s most followed college football teams; and 12 million sports-obsessed fans, will mean Ohio will immediately leapfrog its biggest rivals.
Steadfast performers including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, have been replaced in the top three ‘best US states for online gambling’ by Ohio, Maryland and Massachusetts, according to the Bonus Index, with the Buckeye State going live just one month before the showpiece 57th Super Bowl in the New Year.
The state’s bettors have already shown a growing appetite for betting and gaming across the state with rapidly rising land-based casino and racino revenues. According to the latest figures from the Ohio Casino Control and Lottery commissions, the state’s combined 11 facilities reported $188.6m in revenue in September. Ohio is also the seventh most populated US state with only one million fewer potential customers than Pennsylvania that collected $793m betting revenue in January 2022.
Research from BonusFinder.com has found that Ohioans passion for, and engagement with sport is among the highest in the country, with the state boasting two NFL franchises (Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals), NBA playoff hopefuls, the Cleveland Cavaliers, two teams in the Major Baseball League (Cleveland Guardians and Cincinnati Reds) and Columbus Blue Jackets playing in the NHL.
The recent survey of 1,001 Ohioans and found that almost 20% more people were fans of college football team, the Ohio State Buckeyes (45.5%), than NFL franchise the Cincinnati Bengals (26.6%), while close to 20% said their partner supporting the same team as them is more important than their political beliefs.
The state also boasts some of the greatest US sporting heroes of all time. Asked to select their greatest sports stars from the state, more than a third (35.8%) of ‘Buckeyes’ told BonusFinder their sporting icon was Ohioan LeBron James followed by legendary athlete Jesse Owens (14%) and Pete ‘Charlie Hustle’ Rose, member of the infamous Cincinnati ‘Red Machine’ team that dominated 1970s baseball.
Fintan Costello, managing director, BonusFinder.com, said: “The last five years have seen explosive growth across US sports betting states but Ohio is about to burst on the scene on New Year’s Day and rapidly provide consumers with the most attractive offerings anywhere in the country.
“Several large operators are starting to dominate the betting landscape but the Buckeye state is about to buck that trend with up to 25 different brand propositions that will present consumers with a fantastic range of options, offers, rewards and bonuses, and all just a few weeks before the SuperBowl. The timing could not be better!”
The quarterly Bonus Index from BonusFinder.com tracks 24 regulated US States’ and Canadian Provinces’ quarterly performance, and how favorable each one is for consumers. The Bonus Index measures a wide variety of factors including number of licenses and licensees, and average bonus offerings across all licensed brands to calculate an overall score. By focusing on the consumer experience and competition among operators to attract those consumers BonusFinder can identify which states will be the long-term winners.
