One Last Report on the Launch of Legal Sports Betting in Ohio

From the moment the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the nation’s ban on legalized sports betting in the states, there were about five or six states that the sports betting industry immediately targeted. They designated these five or six states as the states that would lead the nation in sports betting handle and revenue.

Three of those states, California, Florida, and Texas are nowhere near passing sports betting legislation. Of the three, only Texas has a path to sports betting legalization because they don’t have to negotiate with the Indian Nation for sports betting rights. That leaves Michigan, New York, and Ohio.

Indeed, sports betting has been a smashing success in both Michigan and New York. That’s especially true in New York, where the state stands as the leading sports betting state in the nation, by a large margin at that.

The wait is finally over in Ohio. After more than three (3) years of bitter legislative battles to bring legal sports betting to Ohio residents, the first day of sports betting in the state is now only two (2) days away.

A Look at Ohio’s Sports Betting Legislation

After a legislative battle, Ohio’s sports betting legislation, HB 29, finally ended up on Governor Mike DeWine’s desk for signature in December of 2021. From that point forward, the ball fell squarely in the court of the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC), a regulatory body that was charged with putting the state’s sports betting regulation in place.

HB 29 established that the OCCC is authorized to issue 25 Type A licenses to online/mobile sports betting operators, 40 Type B licenses for retail casinos and professional sports franchises, and Another 20 Type C licenses that would allocate to Ohio businesses that will maintain sports betting kiosk. It’s noteworthy that the legislation clearly stated that Type A & B licensees are permitted to form partnerships.

The Green Light is Set to start Flashing

It was the OCCC that decided Ohio’s sports betting launch date would fall on January 1, 2023. That decision was memorialized in October and November as the license applications start pouring in. Of those applications, at least 20 online/mobile operators are scheduled to start taking bets on day one. It is further assumed that retail and kiosk operations will be starting shortly thereafter.

As expected, the list of online/mobile operators that have already secured sports betting licenses is all the usual players from the U.S. sports betting community. That includes the industry’s top dogs like Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, Fanduel, and BetRivers. Not to be outdone is BetMGM, who just signed a retail and online sports betting partnership with the Cincinnati Reds.

What’s in Store for the State?

According to officials from The American Gaming Association (AGA), a mature Ohio sports betting market is expected to generate over $9.0 billion in sports betting handle. At a 7% hold rate (winnings), sports betting operators would generate $630 million in sports betting revenue. With the statutory tax rate set at 10% for sports betting operations, the state is expecting to earn $63 million a year with a lot of that headed toward the Ohio school system.