A Guide to Sports Betting in Ohio

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Who Can You Bet on in Ohio?

Figure 1 There haven’t been that many Ohio sports triumphs

Sports betting became legal in Ohio at the end of 2021 but there has been a delay in the launch of online sportsbooks this year which has meant that fans have so far been unable to make those all important predictions in the Buckeye State.

It looks like there will be online sportsbooks available for the beginning of the 2022 NFL season – one of the most important dates in the betting calendar. But which Ohio sports teams should you be backing this year? Read on to find out what your options are.

Football

Where else to start but with the NFL? Football is the biggest sport in the country when it comes to betting and Ohio fans have two NFL teams to choose from. The Cincinnati Bengals would seem to have the upper hand at the moment, after surprisingly making it all the way to the Super Bowl last year.

The Cleveland Browns have been more of a punch line to a joke, even though there has been an improvement in recent seasons. There still hasn’t been a Super Bowl winner from Ohio though and both teams would do very well to change that in 2022. The Bengals would probably have the better chance.

Baseball

The diamond is where Ohio has enjoyed most professional sports success over the years. But is quite a while since there have been any real celebrations at either of the state’s teams. The Cincinnati Reds have won five championships, while the Cleveland Guardians have two Fall Classic victories (when they were still the Indians).

But entire generations have missed out on cheering their team to World Series glory. The Guardians/Indians last triumph came in 1948 and even the Reds have to look back to 1990 for their last World Series win. The Reds are doing pretty poorly this season too – but the Guardians might be able to make the playoffs.

Soccer

Ohio may not be the first port of call for international stars coming over to play in Major League Soccer. But the Columbus Crew have definitely overachieved in its short history, picking up two MLS Cup wins in 2008 and 2020. The parity of the league means that the Crew always have a chance of doing well.

The most successful period in the history of the organization was probably around the time of that first MLS Cup win but there have been some deep runs into the playoffs in the last few years too. Although the current season is only around halfway through, it looks like the postseason is achievable once again.

Figure 2 The Columbus Crew have won two MLS Cups

Hockey

This is one sport that has not been a success for Ohio. The Columbus Blue Jackets are one of only five active teams that are yet to even reach a Stanley Cup Finals, let alone lift the famous trophy. In just over 20 years there have only even been six visits to the playoffs.

So backing Columbus to do well in the next season, beginning in October, may not be the wisest idea. Of those other four teams never to make the finals, one has been going for just one year and two of the others have won divisional titles in a shorter time than the Blue Jackets.

Basketball

Even if you are not a basketball fan in Ohio you are probably grateful to the Cavaliers and LeBron Johnson for breaking the Cleveland curse. Their NBA championship win in 2016 ended a 52-year drought for any Cleveland major league sports team winning a title.

As we have seen, there have been other Ohio triumphs, but Cleveland had seemed to be particularly unlucky over the years. But since LeBron left for Los Angeles those barren years have returned. The Cavs haven’t made the playoffs since and are not particularly fancied to change that trend this year.