Sports Betting Survey Reveals Bettor Insights Ahead of Ohio’s Jan. 1 Launch

Posted on: December 26, 2022, 12:36h. 

Last updated on: December 26, 2022, 01:22h.

Steve Bittenbender Read More
Expertise: Legislation, Sports Betting, Horse Racing.

Sports betting starts in Ohio in less than a week, and data from Betting Hero may indicate what apps will be the most popular among Buckeye bettors.

Ohio Statehouse
An exterior shot of the Ohio Statehouse located in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Legalized sports betting starts in the state in less than a week. (Image: Casino.org)

The company that helps bettors register with licensed operators surveyed 215 sports fans in Ohio in October and November. The study intends to gain a better understanding of the market before the first apps and sportsbooks go live on New Year’s Day.

Given that four of the five states bordering Ohio – Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia – already offer sports betting, it’s not a big surprise that 31% of those surveyed have placed an online bet in another state.

With roughly 11.8 million people, Ohio will become the fourth-largest state to offer legalized sports betting. As such, it’s expected to become one of the biggest markets in the country.

Bettors there will also have plenty of sportsbooks from which to choose. The Ohio Casino Control Commission has already approved 20 online operators, as well as 12 companies that plan to open up to 19 brick-and-mortar locations across the state. A few more apps and retail locations are expected to get approved sometime in 2023.

Beyond the apps and the sportsbooks, the state will also allow kiosks in select lottery retail locations. According to the Ohio eLicensing Portal, more than 1,080 bars, restaurants, grocery stores, and other establishments have applied to host a kiosk.

Top Two No Surprise

Betting Hero’s survey results indicate the country’s two largest operators will likely occupy the top spots in Ohio as well.

DraftKings had the highest brand awareness response, with 46% of those surveyed. In addition, 14% have already bet through DraftKings in another state. For FanDuel, 44% of those surveyed said they recognized the brand, with 13% saying they’ve used it in another state.

In past studies, Betting Hero Research has found a strong correlation between brand awareness and first app used,” the report stated.

The brand awareness question asked respondents to list as many operators as possible.

From a daily fantasy sports perspective, 41% of respondents said they have a FanDuel Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) account. The same percentage said they played fantasy on DraftKings.

When asked what apps they’d be most likely to download, 78% said DraftKings and 71% said FanDuel.

Barstool No. 3 in Survey

The online sportsbook with the third-highest brand awareness was Barstool Sportsbook. The Penn Entertainment brand scored 33% in brand awareness. In addition, 63% said they would be most likely to download the Barstool app.

There were some interesting disparities between the brand awareness and expected download results. On the awareness question, 26% named BetMGM, and only 10% listed Caesars Sportsbook. But the data shows 44% expecting to download Caesars and 42% downloading BetMGM. Hard Rock Sportsbook did not register in the brand awareness results – 10 sportsbooks were listed, garnering at least 4% recognition. Then there was an “other” category, which had a 13% response rate – but the survey shows 44% expect to download the Seminole Gaming online product.

Ohio’s expected to be the first state for several new operators entering the market, and the BettingHero survey shows 28% of respondents plan to download the Fanatics app, while 16% plan to download the Underdog app, and 11% said they would download Betr. Those are higher scores than established sportsbooks like PointsBet (9%), bet365 (9%), BetRivers (8%), and SuperBook (7%) received.