Ohio State did not make the College Football Playoff this season. However, the Buckeyes did finish the regular season with at least one top ranking.
Last week, Simplebet announced Ohio State was the No. 1 college football team in terms of in-game wagers, also known as microbetting. The New York-based gaming technology company provides a platform that creates odds for such markets as the outcome of the next play or drive to several major sports betting operators, including DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars Sportsbook Ohio, bet365, Hard Rock Bet and Betr.
Sports betting has continued to grow since the 2022 college football season, with Ohio among the states that have started allowing operators to accept wagers this year. Fueled by that expansion, Simplebet said it processed more than three million microbets during the regular season. While the company did not reveal how much was wagered over those three million bets, Simplebet added that the handle grew by 120% from the previous season.
“This is a testament to the hard work of our entire team at Simplebet and the underlying technology, providing markets for 660 games this season and every upcoming bowl game and playoff game,” Simplebet CEO Chris Bevilacqua said. “We continue to showcase our dynamic product offering and how it can fit into any sportsbook operator’s platform.”
High Profile Teams Most Popular
According to Simplebet, other popular teams for microbetting included No. 2 Colorado, driven mostly by football legend Deion Sanders, who is coaching the Buffaloes this season. Rounding out the top five in order were three-quarters of the College Football Playoff: Michigan, Washington and Alabama.
Texas, the other playoff team, was not among the top 10 for microbets, according to the company. While there is legal Ohio sports betting, you cannot legally wager on sports in Texas.
Ohio State also factored in the most popular game for microbetting. Simplebet said the Buckeye’s game last month against Big Ten archrival Michigan generated the most activity of any regular season contest.
Buckeyes Bowl Bound
Although Ohio State did not make college football’s final four this season, bettors will still have one more chance to wager on the Buckeyes. OSU is headed to the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, where they will face off against Missouri in a matchup of Top 10 teams.
Despite the No. 7 Buckeyes having a higher ranking than the No. 9 Tigers, DraftKings Ohio lists Mizzou as the 2.5-point favorite for the Dec. 29 contest. The total points is set at 48.5.
