Ohio sports betting kicks off with impressive figures

A leading geolocation service provider has shown that Ohio has kicked off its sports betting journey with a bang.

GeoComply revealed Ohio saw 11.3 million transactions at online sportsbooks over the New Year’s weekend, which was 2 million ahead of New York.

Experts say the increase could be put down to people being excited to try out the new service, while traditionally sports betting thrives during festive periods.

GeoComply’s senior vice president of compliance Lindsay Slader said she is pleased that sports betting has begun in Ohio. She successful launch had been well received, and in addition to raising money for crucial state services, regulated online sports betting protects citizens by encouraging more responsible gaming.

“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,” she said.

“Today, about 44 percent of the American population can bet online with legal and responsible betting sites. The launch of regulated online sports betting in Ohio will protect its citizens better, with an increased commitment to responsible gambling and new funding for critical state programs.”

GeoComply reported that, just in time for the launch, about 783,864 personal accounts were already registered. The first two days saw a rapid engagement of bettors as 16 online betting operators commenced taking bets within the first 48 hours of the launch. It is interesting to note that Cincinnati was the busiest city in terms of geolocation transactions despite having a smaller population compared to Columbus.

The records showed that about 38 percent of the engagements came from four of the state’s biggest cities, which include Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, and Toledo.

Cincinnati came in with 1,898,000 geolocation transactions. Columbus had 1,033,000 transactions. Cleveland garnered 72,000 transactions, and Toledo recorded 619,000.

Although Ohio had an all-encompassing launch, allowing brick-and-mortar sportsbooks, online sportsbooks, and lottery kiosks to all open simultaneously, This data provided by GeoComply does not include retail or kiosk transactions.

In September, the geolocation technology provider was granted an operational license by the Ohio Casino Control Commission to operate in the new sports betting state, making it the first operator of its kind to be handed a license by the state.

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