(THE CENTER SQUARE) – When the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve, cheers likely went up for more than one reason.
Joining the traditional New Year’s celebration Saturday night were sports bettors, who could legally begin placing wagers Jan. 1.
According to PlayOhio, at least 10 different online sportsbooks – Bet365, Betfred, BetMGM, BetRivers, Caesars, DraftKings, Hard Rock, PointsBet, SuperBook Sports and Tipico – went live at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 1.
Retail sportsbooks also began taking bets at that time.
But, PlayOhio’s Jake Garza said things might not run smoothly in the beginning.
“Things might be moving a little slowly to start on New Year’s Day. Due to huge numbers of bettors all signing on to the state’s sportsbooks at the same time, there may be some apps that are running slowly or crashing entirely from the overload of users,” Garza said in a report for PlayOhio.
Bettors missed Ohio State’s Peach Bowl matchup with Georgia in one college football semifinal Saturday night, but Sunday brought a full slate of NFL games, which could have also led to problems as more and more bettors flocked to sites, Garza said.
Also, as previously reported by The Center Square, PlayOhio anticipates one segment of the market could generate roughly $80 million in total bets in the first year of betting.
Ohio will be the first state to offer more than 1,000 self-service betting machines in bars, restaurants, grocery and convenience stores around the state.
According to PlayOhio, Kroger has been approved for 42 locations around Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton, but did not have them installed by the launch date.
Even with the slower launch of self-serve kiosks, PlayOhio estimates the Buckeye State could become one of the largest sports betting markets in the country, projecting the state will have $8.5 million in total sports bets in the first year. Only New Jersey, Illinois and New York would be higher.
The state has issued 11 retail casino and racing sports betting licenses, and 22 of the maximum retail sportsbooks were set to be approved for action Jan. 1, according to PlayOhio. Also, 21 of the maximum 46 online sportsbooks likely launched at the beginning of the new year.
