Sen. Kirk Schuring is always optimistic about sports betting in Ohio, but that tone fell off Monday compared to last week.
There were some compromises made last week concerning the future of Ohio sportsbooks, Schuring said during an interview with WHBC 1480:
“Well, we’re making progress. There were some significant compromises made last week that brought us closer to an agreement. However, we’re still not there yet, but we will continue to work on it this week and we want to get this done. So I look forward to you asking me each and every Monday.”
Schuring gearing up to discuss this issue every Monday moving forward cannot be the news Ohio bettors wanted to hear.
No guarantee on Ohio sports betting?
This week’s interview lacked the fervent guarantees that Schuring threw around during last Monday’s interview:
“I’m telling ya, I’m a tenacious guy and we’re going to get this done. … We will get it done.”
The closest Schuring came this week was. “We’ll work it out. We’re getting closer.”
Schuring no longer giving details
Schuring is also being a little more tight-lipped than he has been in prior interviews.
“We’re getting closer and I can’t get into the details. These are negotiations that are being done and you gotta do it in a way, because there’s a lot of moving parts, and when I say there were certain compromises then you’ve gotta test the waters with the other interested parties so it’s a Rubik’s cube if you will.”
That brief ramble came without being asked for specific details. Last week, Schuring said issues around mobile OH sports betting was the reason for the delay.
Ohio sports betting competing with other issues
Schuring went on to discuss redistricting issues, which he called a “complicated jigsaw puzzle.” Ohio lost a district after the most recent US census.
The good news is that issue needs to be figured out by the end of the month and Ohio’s legislature runs through Dec. 31.
Even if a bill is passed this year, though, the delays in getting this across the finish line will be felt by future bettors. Schuring already warned two weeks ago that Ohio sports betting would start no earlier than April 30.
If the bill passes at the end of the year, that could line operators up for a mid-summer launch, meaning the real focus on the market wouldn’t start until the 2022 NFL betting season does in August.
