It is rare when a government agency undersells a financial projection, but give credit to the folks at the Ohio Legislative Budget Office, because they managed to do so in epic fashion when it came to year one sports betting handle.
Back in 2021, the state agency offered a projection of $1.1 billion worth of wagers for Fiscal Year 2023 — covering the first six months of the 2023 calendar year — based on a multi-operator mobile sports betting operator launch Jan. 1, 2023.
$1.1 billion. Total. For the entire six months. This was akin to giving an opponent bulletin-board motivational fodder, except it was there for 12 months as hype and anticipation would build until game day.
When Jan. 1, 2023, finally came around, Ohio bettors took that projected figure and needed a mere 31 days to surpass it when the Buckeye State debuted with $1.11 billion in wagers placed the . Granted, that number was inflated due to a free-for-all among operators when it came to promotional credits and bonuses, but Ohio immediately became the fifth state with a $1 billion monthly handle to its credit.