Ohio launched legal sports betting at midnight on January 1, 2023. The marketing blitz was overwhelming. Every Browns game, every Buckeyes game—DraftKings and FanDuel fighting for attention.
At midnight, thousands of Ohioans placed first legal bets. Apps crashed briefly. Customer service jammed. Ohio went from nothing to one of America’s biggest markets overnight.
Yet some people at those watch parties mentioned they’d keep their Bovada accounts. Just in case.
The Poker Gap
Ohio legalized sports betting. Not online poker.
Columbus has bar poker scenes. Cleveland has home games. But online poker—real stakes, 24/7 availability, tournament action—doesn’t exist legally in Ohio.
Bovada fills this completely. The poker room runs at all hours. Anonymous tables protect recreational players from tracking software. Ohio players compete against the entire Bovada network, not just local opponents.
The college student at Ohio State who played poker in the dorm before betting was legal? Bovada is the obvious choice. Ohio’s legal market doesn’t address their needs.
The Buckeye Obsession
Ohio State football isn’t just popular. It’s everything.
The Horseshoe holds 105,000 people. The team contends for national titles annually. Ohio bettors want to bet on the Buckeyes in every way possible.
Legal books cover basics—spread, total, moneyline. Bovada goes deeper on college props. First touchdown scorer. Exact halftime score. Rushing touchdown totals. Specific player performances.
For the Ohio State superfan who watches every snap and has opinions about third-string receivers, Bovada’s prop variety matters. Legal books sanitize college betting somewhat. Bovada treats Buckeyes games like the main events they are in Ohio.
Cleveland Versus Cincinnati
Ohio has two NFL teams with completely different vibes.
Browns fans have suffered decades of misery. Factory of Sadness. 0-16 season. Quarterback carousel. They bet with hope and masochism, believing this is the year while knowing it probably isn’t.
Bengals fans just went to a Super Bowl. Joe Burrow changed everything. Cincinnati has actual optimism. Bengals bettors have swagger their Cleveland counterparts envy.
When Browns play Bengals, Ohio splits in half. The betting intensity spikes. Both legal books and Bovada see Battle of Ohio volume.
Browns fans keep Bovada specifically to bet against the Bengals without Cincinnati coworkers seeing DraftKings history. The pettiness is real.
The Browns Chaos Futures
Cleveland has started more quarterbacks than any NFL team over the past 25 years. The parade of failure is legendary.
Every offseason: QB drama. Every summer: odds shift. Every September: hope springs. Every December: someone new is starting.
Bovada’s futures markets let Cleveland fans bet on quarterback changes, benching timelines, and other dysfunction. Morbid entertainment. Legal books have these markets too, but Bovada sometimes prices Browns chaos differently—maybe more sympathetically to Cleveland reality.
Betting on Browns dysfunction is its own gambling category in Ohio.
The 20% Tax Passthrough
Ohio taxes sportsbook operators at 20%. Middle of the pack—higher than Nevada’s 6.75%, lower than New York’s 51%.
The tax rate affects odds. Operators build it into juice. Ohio bettors might see slightly worse lines than states with lower taxes.
Bovada has no Ohio tax obligation. The lines reflect true market without state tax considerations. For sharp bettors doing this math, the difference compounds over volume.
Most recreational bettors don’t notice. Line shoppers do.
Columbus Campus Habits
Columbus is the biggest city in Ohio and the center of Buckeye culture. The city shuts down for noon Big Ten games.
Columbus also got the Blue Jackets and wants to be seen as a real sports town beyond just the Buckeyes. There’s pride in NHL presence even when the team struggles.
The betting appetite extends beyond football season. Hockey, basketball, whatever’s on. And the college student population means lots of younger bettors comfortable with technology who discovered offshore before legal existed.
Old habits die hard. OSU students have Bovada accounts from before 2023 and keep using them.
The Cincinnati Casino Crowd
Cincinnati has Hard Rock and Miami Valley Gaming. Cleveland has JACK. These places have retail sportsbooks now.
But the casino crowd has different habits. They’re used to gambling in person. Mobile betting feels abstract.
Some casino regulars discovered Bovada years ago and never left. The interface is familiar. Their account has history. Switching seems pointless. They hit Hard Rock for slots and use Bovada at home for sports.
FAQ
Does Bovada work in Ohio?
Yes. Bovada accepts Ohio players for sports, poker, and casino. Ohio’s 2023 legalization doesn’t change offshore operations—separate systems.
Is there legal online poker in Ohio?
No. Ohio legalized sports betting only. For real-money online poker, Ohio residents use offshore options like Bovada.
Why would Ohioans use Bovada instead of legal apps?
Poker access, deeper college betting props, line shopping for better odds, and habit from before 2023 legalization. Many use both for different purposes.
Can I bet on Ohio State with Bovada?
Yes. Full Buckeyes markets—spreads, totals, player props, season futures. Bovada tends to have more prop variety on major college games than some legal books.