For Ohio sports bettors, the Ohio State Buckeyes are kicking off their hoped-for path to the NCAA football title about four hours too soon.
Legal sports betting in Ohio begins Jan. 1 when the clock strikes midnight, ushering in the new year. Bettors will be able to wager on mobile apps, at brick-and-mortar sportsbooks and at kiosks in hundreds of bars, restaurants and grocery stores.
Four hours before sports betting begins, the Big 10’s Buckeyes (11-1) take on the SEC champion and No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (13-0) in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
Kickoff is at 8 p.m. ET for the Dec. 31 matchup at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, only 70 miles from the Georgia campus in Athens. The game is sold out and will air on ESPN.
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Buckeyes’ Game Starts Before Betting Does
Because of the start time, Ohio bettors won’t be able to wager legally leading up to kickoff — no moneyline bets or point spreads, no prop bets.
But sports-betting enthusiasm is expected to skyrocket in Ohio once midnight strikes. NFL games are on the Jan. 1 schedule, including the Cleveland Browns playing in Washington, D.C., against the Commanders. The Cincinnati Bengals host the Buffalo Bills on Jan. 2. The NFL’s Super Bowl, the most heavily wagered event in the country, is Feb. 12.
And if Ohio State beats Georgia, they’ll play Jan. 9 for the national title. With big football games on tap to start the new year, sports betting is expected to begin with a bang in the Buckeye State.
“Money is going to flow,” Ohio journalist Ray Marcano told Gambling.com. “Ohio is a mad sports state.”
Ohio Matches SEC States In College Football Passion
The NFL is big nationwide, but enthusiasm for college athletics in Big 10 states rivals the passion felt among SEC fans from Tennessee to Texas who live for football Saturdays.
Marcano, a Dayton Daily News columnist, said the biggest event in the Buckeye State every year is the Ohio State-Michigan matchup.
This year, the Michigan Wolverines won in Ohio State’s backyard, 45-23, but the two could square off again in early January for the national title. First, the Buckeyes have to get past favored Georgia, while Michigan (13-0) needs to beat underdog TCU (12-1) in the Dec. 31 Fiesta Bowl.
If that Big 10 rematch takes place for the crystal trophy — the Jan. 9 championship game is being played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET — Ohio bettors might set wagering records online and in-person at sportsbooks, Marcano said. Sports betting is legal in Michigan, too.
“It’ll be off the charts,” Marcano said. “You might see smoke coming out of your computer.”
Ohio Bettors Drawn to Football, Hoops, Hockey
Casey Lewless, a former Las Vegas bookmaker managing Penn Entertainment’s casino sportsbooks in Bossier City, Louisiana, said he expects betting patterns in Ohio to mirror those in the Bayou State.
“People like to bet what they are familiar with,” Lewless told Gambling.com.
In Ohio, that will include bets being placed on the state’s many professional and college teams. he said.
“They should expect 15% to 18% on local regional teams,” Lewless said.
That percentage equals what he sees at the Bossier City properties, which, given their location in northwestern Louisiana, are close to the Texas and Arkansas borders.
“We probably do 18% to 21% on a Sunday either with the Saints or Cowboys on every ticket, or both,” Lewless said.
On Saturdays, college football games, including those involving LSU, Arkansas, Texas A&M and other SEC and regional teams, “dominate our wagers,” he said.
In different regions across the country, some sporting events attract more attention than others, Lewless said. Bettors in Columbus, Ohio, might be interested in sports that aren’t as important to sportsbook patrons in Bossier City, Louisiana.
“College baseball is huge down here,” Lewless said, “but in Columbus, after hoops and football, I wouldn’t be surprised if college hockey was big.”
Buckeye State Expecting Billions Wagered
With more than 11.7 million residents, Ohio will be the fourth most-populated state with legal sports betting, behind New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois. Sports betting is illegal in the three largest states, California, Texas and Florida.
Of the five states that border Ohio, sports betting is Illegal in only one, Kentucky, but lawmakers there hope to legalize it next year.
With Ohio’s population size and enthusiastic fan bases for professional and collegiate athletics, the state is poised for a sport betting windfall.
Some estimates indicate Ohioans could wager $8 billion on sports next year alone. The Ohio Legislative Service Commission anticipates the state will collect $31 million in tax revenue through 2024, according to Marcano’s column on Sunday in the Dayton Daily News.
With big football games on the schedule, sports betting is expected to get off to a strong start statewide. That will be boosted even more if Ohio State advances to the College Football Playoff National Championship, especially if Michigan is lined up on the other side of the ball.
Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba Sitting Out
Ousting Georgia will not be an easy task for the Buckeyes. The only other meeting between the two collegiate powerhouses was in 1993, when Georgia defeated the Buckeyes, 21-14, in the Florida Citrus Bowl.
In this year’s Peach Bowl against Georgia, the Buckeyes opened as seven-point underdogs, though the line could move as news develops leading up to game time.
The latest twist is that Ohio State star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, in declaring for the NFL draft, will skip the playoffs, saying doctors determined he is unable to participate in the Peach Bowl and a possible shot at the national championship — maybe even against Michigan.
Title Odds Favor Georgia
Below are the odds to win the national championship, provided by BetMGM Sportsbook:
- Georgia -145
- Michigan +300
- Ohio State +350
- TCU +1600
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