Ohio’s sportsbooks took $945,327,366 in wagers in September 2026 and reported $87,711,385 in revenue. Handle fell 2.24% against September 2025 while revenue rose 12.78%, and the state’s 20% tax produced $17,542,277.

The month’s distinguishing feature sits in a column most states do not publish: operators ran $38,461,235 of promotional gaming credits, 165% more than August, and Ohio taxed all of it. Figures come from the Ohio Casino Control Commission.

Revenue grew on a smaller pot because the books kept more of what came in. Had September 2026 run at the previous year’s 8.04% hold, the same handle would have returned about $76.0 million. The 1.24 point improvement is worth roughly $11.7 million, more than the full year-over-year revenue gain of $9.9 million.

Against August the month reads as a straightforward football restart, with handle up 48.27% from $637,576,426 and revenue up 50.37% from $58,331,560.

FanDuel still writes more Ohio business than anyone, but its lead on revenue has nearly gone. FanDuel took $320,500,315 and kept $28,893,281. DraftKings took $306,877,075, which is 4.4% less, and kept $28,777,134. The two are $116,147 apart, or four tenths of one percent, and the reason is margin: DraftKings held 9.38% where FanDuel held 9.02%.

FanDuel’s handle rose 4.7% year over year while its revenue fell 11.8%. DraftKings’ handle fell 10.4% while its revenue rose 33.1%. Three of the eight largest books grew revenue by double digits on falling handle.

ESPN Bet was the only one of the eight to lose ground on both measures, with handle down 34.0% and revenue down 33.2%.Nine months in, Ohio is writing about the same volume as last year and converting more of it, with hold at 10.14% against 9.50%.