Best Legal Ohio Sports Betting Sites and Sportsbooks Apps 2024

Comparing Ohio Sportsbooks

To help you choose the best Ohio betting site for you we have summarised our top 10 operators in the table below. We compared the online sportsbooks based on their sign-up bonuses and the live betting options they offer. We’ve also given you the bonus code.

Is Sports Betting Legal in Ohio?

Regulated sports betting is officially up and running in Ohio. A new bill legalized land-based sports betting at commercial casinos and racinos, major professional sports arenas, and at up to 19 other retail locations. Some sports betting is available via kiosks in licensed bars and restaurants.

The bill also authorizes statewide mobile sports betting through casinos and racinos, as well as via the designated partners of Ohio’s major league sports franchises.

Who can Legally Bet on Sports in Ohio?

Ohio residents over the age of 18 can legally bet at any of the offshore providers named in our list (see above). We have found the best sites for you – all of which are noted to be safe and secure.

There is no tax on winnings at offshore sites and players are advised to use crypto deposits in order to maintain anonymity with transactions.

How to Bet on Sports Online in Ohio

Opening an account with BetOnline in Ohio is a straightforward process that can be completed with just a few simple steps:

Step 1 – Visit site and create account

Head to the BetOnline site and look for the green “JOIN” button on a desktop or select join from the menu on smartphones or tablets.

Step 2 – Enter personal details

After clicking “JOIN”, enter your personal details (name, email, password, zip code, phone number, and date of birth)

Step 3 – Verify your account

After completing your registration, you may be asked to activate your account by clicking on the link in the email from BetOnline that was sent to your registered email address.

Step 4 – Make a deposit

Before you can start betting you will need to add some funds to your new account. When logged in head to the Banking section, choose your preferred deposit method, and follow the on-screen prompts to complete your transaction. Payment methods include debit/credit cards, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and P2P Bank Wire Transfers.

Step 5 – Start betting!

Now that you have a fully verified and funded BetOnline account the fun can start and you can now start placing some wagers. To place a sports bet, just select the game/match that you would like to bet on, select your bet type and enter your stake amount in the risk box. When ready click the “Place Bet” button to confirm your bet. You can follow all your bets under the ‘My Bets’ tab.

When will Betting be Legal in Ohio?

From January 2023 onwards, sports betting in Ohio will become completely legal. Of course, this won’t have any effect on offshore sportsbooks, our suggested offshore sites provide a secure and safe crypto sport betting experience.

On January 1, 2023, Ohio joined the distinguished group of over 30 U.S. states and jurisdictions that have authorized or allowed some form of legal sports betting since the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992.

Previous Sports Betting Bills in Ohio

A few attempts were made before online sports betting was legalized in Ohio. This section looks at some of the bills that were introduced at The Ohio Legislature on the road to legal online sports betting environment we have now.

2021

• HB 29: Submitted by Reps. Scott Wiggam and Adam Miller. This bill eventually led to legalized and regulated sports gaming in this state with a tax on businesses that profit from sports betting. It came into effect on 23rd March 2022. It amends and add sections to the Ohio code of law, known as the Revised Codes.

• SB 176: Submitted by Sens. Niraj Antani and Nathan Manning. This bill would also have added to and amended the Revised Codes to allow and set up the regulation of online sports betting. It dies with the Finance committee.

2019

• HB 194: Submitted by Reps. Dave Greenspan and Brigid Kelly. This bill aimed to legalize sports betting by changing the code of law to create a Sports Gaming Advisory Board and offering the product through the State Lottery. It dies in the chamber.
• SB 111: Submitted by Sens. John Eklund and Sean O’Brien. This bill would have legalized sports wagering in Ohio’s 11 casinos and racinos and established a tax rate of 6.25%. It dies with the General Government and Agency Review committee.

Tax on Sports Betting Winnings in Ohio

You do not have to pay any tax on any winnings from offshore online sportsbooks. As these sites have servers located out of the country, they do not have to conform to the same regulations as US-based firms.

Once sports betting in Ohio becomes legal with state-based apps, if you have net winnings over $600 during a 12-month period, the IRS will require you to pay tax, as it will consider your profit to be taxable income.

Should that occur, an Ohio sportsbook (note, this will not be the case with an offshore sportsbook) will issue you a 1099 or W2-G form. You do not need to pay tax every time you win a bet, as this is only applicable if you earn a profit in the long term.

Bonuses Available at Ohio Betting Sites

Ohio sports bettors have a wide selection of lucrative bonus offers to choose from. At Ohio sportsbooks, you will typically encounter a few different types of bonuses. Here’s a brief rundown of the top three bonus types you’ll find at our recommended offshore sportsbooks.

Matched Deposit Bonuses

A matched deposit bonus is when the sportsbook matches a portion of the money you put into your account. For example, a 100% deposit match bonus on a $100 deposit means that you will get both the $100 you put in and another $100 bonus funds from the sportsbook. Most of the time, this type of promotion has a maximum value and has to be wagered a certain number of times before it can be withdrawn.

No Deposit Bonuses

No deposit bonuses are fairly rare but are very popular with bettors as they require no financial outlay, and therefore come with no risk. They are sometimes given out to new customers to try out the sportsbook or casino.

These bonuses are typically small and usually have conditions attached to them which means that you have to play through any winnings a certain number of times. For example, a £10 no deposit bonus may come with a 10x rollover requirement meaning you have to wager $100 before you can withdraw funds. If sportsbooks gave away free funds without these safeguards they would go out of business pretty quickly.

Free Bets

As part of their promotions or contests, and due to their low overheads compared to brick-and-mortar sportsbooks, online sportsbooks often give away free bets and free spins to keep their loyal customers happy.

These bonuses let you enjoy a risk-free bet, but note that these funds are normally kept separate from your cash balance and your free bet stake will not be returned to you with any winnings. This is how free bets usually work. For example, in addition to their welcome bonus, BetOnline also gives new players a $25 free bet to try out their live betting service for the first time.

Comparing Sign-Up Bonuses at the Best Ohio Betting Sites

Each of our recommended sportsbooks has an optional new customer sign-up bonus. They will give you some bonus funds to play with but they do come with wagering /rollover requirements. The table below summarises the values and terms of each sign-up bonus along with rollover requirement, expiration times and minimum deposits.

Betting Payment Methods available in Ohio

In order to make deposits or withdrawals to and from your betting account, you will be required to have a suitable method of conducting transactions. There are standard methods such as bank cards like Visa, eWallets, and cryptocurrency.

Crypto Betting Options

Offshore sportsbooks love cryptocurrencies and accept a variety of digital coins for gambling and in many cases, there are also larger welcome bonuses just for cryptocurrency players. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Binance, Avalanche, Cardano, Tether, Litecoin, Stellar, Bitcoin Cash, and Shiba Inu are among the most commonly accepted cryptos. There are no fees charged by sportsbooks for using crypto and transactions are usually completed within minutes.

Traditional Payment Methods

You still have traditional methods for making deposits and withdrawals at offshore sportsbooks if you are unable to use cryptocurrencies or eWallets. These include credit and debit cards, ACH transfers, online banking, wire transfers, PayNearMe, and checks by mail. Fees and payout times will vary depending on your chosen method but cards usually take 1-3 days.

eWallet Betting Options

Your bank account must be linked to an eWallet before you may deposit or withdraw money from it, but you can also use funds that are already in your eWallet account. Some eWallets widely accepted are Neteller and Skrill but note that none of our recommended offshore sportsbooks accept Paypal.

Deposit & Withdrawal Options Available at the Best Ohio Betting Sites

The table below shows which deposit and withdrawal methods are accepted by our top 10 offshore betting sites. Note that neither of the Ohio online sports betting sites offer withdrawals via debit/credit cards, but they all accept deposits via this option.

Keep in mind that, MyBookie, XBet, and BUSR do not offer withdrawals via Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum. BetNow does not offer Ethereum withdrawals either, however, they do Bitcoin Cash withdrawals.

Popular Sports to Bet on in Ohio

The best Ohio sports betting sites provide between 30 and 50 different sports to wager on. So let’s have a look at some of the most popular options.

NFL

Football is the most popular sport in America, so whether you want to bet on the NFL (National Football League), where the pros play, or the NCAAF (National Collegiate Athletic Association Football), where college teams play, the best Ohio sportsbooks will have you covered. There are point spreads, moneylines, totals, prop bets on teams and players (like who will score the first touchdown), and other types of bets and props.

There are two NFL teams in Ohio:

• Cincinnati Bengals – The Bengals have never won the Super Bowl but have won the AFC Championship three times. (1981, 1988 & 2021)
• Cleveland Browns – Yet to appear in a Super Bowl but have won four NFL championships (1950, 1954–55, 1964) and four All-America Football Conference (AAFC) championships (1946–49)

NBA

Another popular sport in the USA is basketball. The best sportsbooks will provide betting on both the NBA and college basketball as a result (NCAAB). Although basketball gamblers often place point spread wagers, all of our top websites also offer moneylines, totals, and other prop bets. Other foreign basketball leagues such as FIBA are covered on the best NBA betting sites like SportsBetting.ag, Bovada, or MyBookie.

There is one NBA team in Ohio:

• Cleveland Cavaliers – The Cavaliers won their first NBA Championship in 2016

MLB

Major League Baseball is another favorite with bettors in the United States. All MLB games and futures are accessible at our top-rated Ohio sportsbooks from the pre-season and regular season through to the World Series postseason. The opening moneyline and runline MLB odds usually first appear on the best baseball betting sites such as BetOnline, XBet, and BetUS.

Ohio has two MLB teams:

• Cleveland Guardians – The Guardians, formerly known as the Cleveland Indians, have won the World Series twice (1920 and 1948). Since then, they have gone the longest without winning a title than any other major league team
• Cincinnati Reds – The Reds have won five World Series titles (1919, 1940, 1975, 1976, 1990) and nine NL pennants.

NHL

Offshore sportsbooks are a great option for ice hockey fans because they provide a wide range of domestic and international competitions to bet on. Among these are the NHL (National Hockey League), the Stanley Cup, and the Canadian Football League. BetOnline.ag and MyBookie are both great places to place bets on NHL games, with the moneyline, spread, and totals being the most common wagers.

There is just one NHL team in Ohio:

• Columbus Blue Jackets – Began as an expansion team in 2000 and plays in the Eastern Conference

NCAA Football 

All of the offshore sports betting sites reviewed on this page offer odds on college football. You will find a full range of betting markets, props, and futures, just like with the NFL.

There are 10 college football teams in Ohio:

• Akron Zips
• Bowling Green Falcons
• Cincinnati Bearcats
• Dayton Flyers
• Kent State Golden Flashes
• Miami RedHawks
• Ohio Bobcats
• Ohio State Buckeyes
• Toledo Rockets
• Youngstown State Penguins

NCAA Basketball

College football gets a lot of attention and news coverage in Ohio, but college basketball is also very popular too. Our top-rated betting site, BetOnline, is a great choice if you want to bet on college basketball games. The sportsbook has a great section for college basketball and has great coverage of the popular March Madness tournament.

There are 13 college basketball teams in Ohio:

• Akron Zips
• Bowling Green Falcons
• Cincinnati Bearcats
• Cleveland State Vikings
• Dayton Flyers
• Kent State Golden Flashes
• Miami RedHawks, Oxford
• Ohio Bobcats, Athens
• Ohio State Buckeyes, Columbus
• Toledo Rockets
• Wright State Raiders, Fairborn
• Xavier Musketeers, Cincinnati
• Youngstown State Penguins

Golf 

Golf is another favorite with many bettors. You can place futures bets on the major golf tournaments such as The Masters, US Open, and the PGA Tour all year round. You can bet on the outright winner, Top 5, Top 10, the First Round Leader, 2-balls, 3-balls, etc. If you like to bet on golf, you should check out our number one sportsbook BetOnline.

The world-famous Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio hosts the annual PGA Memorial Tournament in late May / early June.

Horse Racing

Horse racing betting is a big business both in the US and abroad, and most offshore sportsbooks now accept online pari-mutuel bets like win, place, show, exacta, trifecta, hi-5, and quinella. Some of the best offshore sportsbooks, like MyBookie, Bovada, and BetOnline, have built-in racebooks. This makes it easier for bettors to keep up with the latest races, odds, and stats.

There are seven horse and harness racing tracks or ‘Racinos’ in Ohio:

• Belterra Park (formerly River Downs) in Cincinnati
• Beulah Park, Grove City
• Miami Valley Gaming, Lebanon
• Northfield Park, Northfield
• Scioto Downs in Columbus
• Thistledown, North Randall
• Toledo Raceway Park

DFS

OH players can participate freely in daily fantasy sports (DFS) leagues for the NFL, NBA, and many other sports because popular DFS apps like FanDuel and DraftKings are legally permitted to operate in Ohio. Many of our recommended offshore sportsbooks also operate fantasy contests for their users, some of which are free to enter.

The Best Ohio Betting Apps & Mobile Sites

All of our recommended sportsbooks in Ohio also operate sports betting apps. You won’t need to take a trip to the app store – just visiting the respective sportsbook’s website and you’ll find a built-in app optimised for your device, Some sports betting apps in Ohio, however, do offer more features or smoother experiences than others. We’ve tested them all, and picked out our top three recommendations.

Popular Markets at Ohio Online Sportsbooks

The best Ohio betting sites not only offer a wide range of sports to bet on as well they also offer many different kinds of bets. In the next section, we’ll talk about some of the most common types of bet.

Moneyline

The moneyline is one of the most common and simple bets to make when betting on sports, as it is simply a straight win wager. In this case, the bettor simply chooses which team will win the match and bets on that team. A sportsbook shows betting odds as a three-digit figure indicating the payoff if that team wins. A positive (+) sign next to the odds denotes an underdog, whereas a negative (-) sign implies a favorite. So odds of +350 mean you will collect $350 for a successful $100 wager.

When betting on the favorite, the three-digit number indicates how much you must gamble to win $100, but the underdog number indicates how much you will win for a $100 stake. In situations where there is an overwhelming favorite to win, moneyline odds can be limiting, so point spread and handicap markets are advantageous.

Spreads

Spread bets or point spreads are the most common way to bet on the NFL or NBA. Spread betting lines at a sportsbook show the expected margin of victory for the favorite, which is shown by a minus sign (-). The underdog is shown by a plus sign (+).

If you bet “on the spread,” the favorite must win by more than the number of points the sportsbook thinks they will win by. Also, if you bet on the underdog to beat the spread, your bet will win if the underdog wins, ties, or loses by fewer points than the oddsmakers predicted.

Totals

A popular choice is a totals bet, which is also called a “over/under” bet. It’s a simple two-way betting market where you have to guess whether a certain total, like “Total Points” or “Total Team Points,” will go over or under a certain number given by the sportsbook.

Most of the time, there are a lot of different options or “totals betting lines” from which to choose. To win your bet, you must correctly guess whether the total will be higher (over) or lower (under) than what the sportsbook has predicted.

Props

Prop bets, or props for short, are wagers that have nothing to do with the end result of the game. For example, you can bet on who will score the first touchdown or how many points a player will get.

Futures

Betting on future events, such as which team will win the Super Bowl or which player will be chosen MVP, is known as a futures wager. These wagers are settled typically after the conclusion of a season or competition

Parlays

A parlay bet is when you make more than one bet and put them all into one combined wager. If one selection wins, the money goes to the next one, and so on. If all selections in the parlay win it can pay out a lot of money. But if just one of the bets in your parlay loses, the whole bet loses. In Europe, these kinds of bets are called “accumulators” or “multi bets.”

Live betting

All of the top 10 recommended sportsbooks on our list will allow bettors to place bets on games that are going on. This is known as live betting or in-play betting. This means that you don’t have to get your bets on ahead of time and can still place wagers after the game has kicked off.  As the game goes on, the live betting odds will update in real-time, however, there may be short periods when the odds are suspended briefly during key moments. such as touchdowns or turnovers.

Live betting is also a good way of adjusting your position during a game, either to lock in a profit or hedge your bets. BetOnline is the best offshore sportsbook for live betting as you can also watch live sports for free without ever leaving your betting slip.

Bets Available at the Best Ohio Betting Sites

The table below summarises the types of bet accepted at our top 10 Ohio sportsbooks.

How Ohio Online Sports Betting Compares

Ohio online sports betting was legalized in part due to competition from neighboring states. Casinos and racinos in the Cincinnati area face competition from riverboat casinos in Indiana. There is also additional competition from Kentucky and West Virginia.

There will no longer be a need to drive across state lines from January 2023 should you want to place legal sports bets in an Ohio casino.

Casinos with Sports Betting in Ohio

As things stand, the only sports betting at casinos in Ohio would appear to be on horses at racinos. This should change rapidly once the new bill regarding sports betting Ohio comes into law in January 2023.

Miami Valley Gaming

Address: 6000 OH-63, Lebanon, OH 45036
Opening hours: 24 hours
Miami Valley Gaming is a harness racing track and casino in Turtlecreek Township.

Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs

Address: 6000 S High St, Columbus, OH 43207
Opening hours: 24 hours
Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs, formerly known as Scioto Downs Racino, is a horse racing track and casino in Columbus, Ohio, owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment.

Belterra Park Cincinnati

Address: 6301 Kellogg Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45230
Opening hours: 12:00 to 22:00
The Belterra Park racino, formerly known as River Downs, features seasonal live thoroughbred & year-round simulcast racing plus a restaurant.

The Best Betting Site for Ohio

BetOnline is our choice as the best betting site for Ohio, given its long history and reputation as a respected online sportsbook that’s safe and secure for its customers to wager. In addition, there’s no shortage of payment options and bonuses at BetOnline.

This Ohio online sports betting site covers all the major North American sports in-depth and has a good selection of live betting too. There’s also a decent Racebook. The BetOnline Stats Center is a great way to access wagering trends, stats, analysis, and free picks.

Gambling Addiction Resources in OH

Gambling can be fun, but also addictive. We support safe and enjoyable gambling. If you feel like your gambling is turning into more, we have provided the following resources.

The National Council on Problem Gambling have a screening tool which can help to pre-empt the problem. It collects 10 questions that are useful for checking gambling behaviour. Catch bad habits before they develop into addiction. If someone does need help they can find it within the state.

• The Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services could be a good place to turn for help.
• The Problem Gambling Network of Ohio lists a range of programs that can help someone who is suffering.
• You can use a national tool like the National Problem Gambling Helpline. You can call them on 1-800-GAMBLER, text them at 800GAM, or use the chat service. They are free, confidential, and available across all 50 states. Also check out the NCPG website for a full list of services.