Ohio State’s lack of football in January might’ve been a factor in the Buckeye State’s 8% year-over-year handle decrease.

– Operators generated a second consecutive handle under $1 billion.

– Ohio State’s season ended on the last day of 2025.

– With the Buckeyes’ early playoff dismissal, year-over-year revenue spiked 24%.

The Ohio Casino Control Commission recently reported that online and retail sportsbooks generated $931.1 million in wagers for the first month of 2026. The previous January, when Ohio State won the national title, saw over $1 billion in bets.

The latest January handle was nearly on par with December 2025’s amount wagered, but that’s now two consecutive months below $1 billion after November and October eclipsed that mark.

Ohio State’s season ended on New Year’s Eve with a Playoff loss to Miami in the Cotton Bowl, leading to no carryover in January.

Profits up

Without the Buckeyes’ winning championship run, gross revenue in Ohio improved by 24% compared to the same month in 2025. The $99.6 million in monthly profits was the first under $100 million since September, though.

Still, the 10.7% hold towered over the previous January’s 7.9%, and it was the third consecutive double-digit win rate produced in Ohio. Online sportsbooks won back $98.3 million on a $917.6-million handle.

The Buckeye State’s 13 retail sports betting operators generated $1.3 million in gross revenue from over $13.5 million in wagers. Total taxable revenue of $99.7 million put nearly $20 million into Ohio’s coffers.

DraftKings takes gold

DraftKings took home the top handle in Ohio sports betting for January, generating $301 million in wagers that matched December’s bets for the online operator. However, FanDuel used a 13.2% hold on a $295.3-million handle to produce $39.1 million, nearly $7 million more than DraftKings, which still had an impressive 10.8% win rate.

January was also good to bet365, which won back 11.5% on a $78-million handle to finish in third place for both wagers and revenue. BetMGM wasn’t so fortunate, finishing the month with a 4.9% hold on a $68.9-million handle.

Fanatics reached a double-digit win rate on a $52.8-million handle, while Caesars stayed in single digits on $31.6 million in wagers.

Other online books

After winning over $4 million in its first month as theScore Bet, PENN Entertainment’s online platform produced a little under $2.5 million in January. Despite the month-over-month profit dip, theScore Bet generated a 5.9% handle increase from December, finishing close to Caesars with $29.97 million in wagers.

That easily beat out Hard Rock Bet’s $23.6-million handle, but the Seminole Tribe-owned operator had a better hold with 9.6% compared to theScore Bet’s 8.3% win rate. Prime Sportsbook produced the lowest hold of all operators in January, failing to reach 3% on an $18.4-million handle.

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