Ohio Sports Betting Could Take Handle From Indiana Casino

Sports betting in Ohio is about to be legal, which could mean the end to an impressive run for one casino in Indiana.

PENN Entertainment‘s Hollywood Lawrenceburg sits on the border of Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. The casino’s Barstool Sportsbook has been one of the country’s top 10 regional retail sportsbooks by handle largely because of that location.

Now, with Ohio sportsbooks legal and mobile betting nearly available throughout the state, the Lawrenceburg sportsbook may fall from those ranks.

PENN gained without Ohio sports betting

The Barstool Sportsbook in Lawrenceburg was not doing anything specifically different. It was simply the closest option for those in nearby Cincinnati, which is a 30-minute drive away.

The sportsbook took $12.3 million in bets during November. That is more than 2.5 times the second-highest retail handle in the state at Ameristar Casino.

The retail book took more handle than six of Indiana’s mobile sportsbooks in November as well.

Will Cincy casinos see big Ohio sports betting?

It will take a couple of months of results for both Ohio and Indiana to see if Hollywood Lawrenceburg is hit hard by legal Ohio sports betting.

The handle will not necessarily switch to one of Cincinnati’s retail casinos, of course. There are more than a dozen mobile sportsbooks that will go live Jan. 1. That means the two Cincinnati casinos operated by Boyd and Hard Rock are not guaranteed to see a huge retail sports betting business.

Lawrenceburg could also hang onto more handle than expected, too, if it has created some loyal fans of the Barstool experience.

Where retail leaders could lose share

Retail handle shifting online as more states legalize and expand betting is something to watch throughout the US.

Live! Casino in Maryland, for instance, is also in the top 10 for regional retail sportsbooks by handle. It took $15.4 million in bets during October but saw handle dip to $12.2 million in November after mobile Maryland sportsbooks launched toward the end of the month.

Bally’s Twin River in Rhode Island is another casino with, for now, a top 10 retail book. With Massachusetts sports betting likely going mobile before March Madness betting, though, that too could see significant handle shift out of state.