Date: January 24, 2023
By: Fred Goldberg
The state of Ohio has set new records for geolocation transactions during its debut weekend of operation, according to data from GeoComply. Ohio recorded more transactions than even New York in its first two days, with a total of 11.3 million transactions shared between 17 operators and 784,000 unique accounts. This surpasses the previous two-day record set by New York, which had 9.3 million transactions, and Pennsylvania, which had 8.2 million transactions.
In the first hour on New Year’s Day alone, 234,000 geolocation transactions took place in Ohio.
Moreover, there has been a marked increase in sports betting app downloads, with analysts recording a 201% leap since legalization took effect.
On January 8th, Ohio became the 25th state to legalize sports betting, joining a growing list of states that have embraced this form of gambling. This is a significant development for the sports betting industry, as it expands the reach of legal sports betting to more consumers and allows for increased revenue. In fact, the American Gaming Association estimates that the sports betting industry could generate many billions of dollars in annual revenue for each state and could lead to the creation of up to 150,000 new jobs nationwide.
For sports fans in Ohio, this legalization is a welcome development. It means that they will have more options for legal and regulated sports betting, allowing them to place bets on their favorite sports in a safe and controlled environment. This is especially important given the proliferation of illegal sports betting in the past, which often operated in a grey area and was risky for consumers. In fact, it is estimated that Americans illegally wager around $150 billion on sports each year, so the legalization of sports betting in Ohio and other states will help to bring this activity out of the shadows and into a regulated environment. This will not only provide a safer experience for consumers, but will also generate additional tax revenue for the state.
Sports betting legalization in Ohio is a major milestone for the industry and brings the total number of states with legal sports betting to 30. Additionally, there are other states with sports betting legislation actively being discussed.