The first window to apply for Ohio sports betting licenses closed on Friday, but not before a flood of last-minute submissions that included some of the major names that had thus far been missing.
There are now 22 applications for "Type-A" online sports betting licenses, according to the list maintained by the Ohio Casino Control Commission. This includes recent additions such as the Cleveland Browns (who previously announced a partnership with the owner of Bally Bet), the Cincinnati Reds, and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The application numbers overall are well up from a week earlier, when only a handful had been filed. The low turnout until Friday had raised some eyebrows, but it was (correctly) expected that the number of submissions would rise considerably.
Once licensed, a Type-A proprietor can offer online sports betting in Ohio. However, most of those prospective proprietors plan to use partners to actually deliver those online sports betting services on their behalf, and the list of operators applying for "mobile management services provider" licenses in Ohio has swollen as well.
Bet365, the company behind Caesars Sportsbook, and Betfred (which recently announced a partnership with the Cincinnati Bengals) are now among those aiming to get their mobile-provider permits so that they can conduct sports wagering for their partners.
The latest applications also mean there could be 20 or more online operators going live in Ohio on Jan. 1, 2023, the day that legal sports betting is scheduled to begin in the state. Here is the list, as of last Friday, of companies applying for mobile management services provider licenses and the professional sports organizations, casinos, and racetracks with which they intend to partner:
- BetMGM (MGM Northfield Park)
- PointsBet (Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley)
- DraftKings (Hollywood Casino Toledo)
- Barstool Sportsbook (Hollywood Casino Columbus)
- FanDuel (Partner TBD)
- Fanatics (Columbus Blue Jackets)
- William Hill/Caesars Sportsbook (Scioto Downs)
- Hard Rock (Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati)
- Betfred (Cincinnati Bengals)
- bet365 (Cleveland Guardians)
- PlayUp (JACK Cleveland Casino)
- SuperBook (FC Cincinnati)
- Tipico (Columbus Crew)
- Fubo (Cleveland Cavaliers)
- Instabet (Pro Football Hall of Fame village)
- Parx (Muirfield Village Golf Club)
- Underdog (Cincinnati Reds)
- Out The Gate (SPIRE Institute)
- Gamewise/Betly (Partner TBD)
- Bally Bet (Cleveland Browns)
Ohio’s law allows for up to 25 online sports betting licenses to be awarded initially, and with preference given for those “proprietor” permits to the state’s professional sports organizations and casino operators.
Another 40 proprietor-level licenses are available for brick-and-mortar sportsbooks. As of last Friday, there were 24 applications submitted for those “Type-B” permits, including from the Cleveland Cavaliers and Guardians.
Ohio's first, month-long window to apply for licenses related to retail and online sports betting closed on Friday, a key deadline for operators aiming to take bets as soon as legally possible.
“Applicants for these license types who do not make this application window are still eligible to apply but are not guaranteed consideration in time for a January 1, 2023 launch,” the Ohio Casino Control Commission said Friday in an email to sports-betting stakeholders.
“This afternoon’s update should not be considered a final list of applicants for the first universal-start-date application window, as additional applications may come in this evening or may be postmarked today,” the regulator added.
Another window opens
Another application window is now open for so-called “Type-C” hosts, which will have lottery-related kiosks for sports betting at their bar or restaurant, and for “second-designated” mobile management services providers.
A Type-A online sports betting proprietor can partner with up to two mobile management services providers, but the proprietor, among other things, must show that the second contract would have added economic benefit to Ohio and would not block another proprietor from striking a similar deal. The second window is open until August 15.
“Applicants who do not apply during this window are still eligible to apply but are not guaranteed consideration in time for a January 1, 2023 launch,” the casino control commission noted.
