The universal start date for sports betting in Ohio is Jan. 1, 2023, the Casino Control Commission decided Wednesday.
The commission warned the launch would be around that date at its last meeting. It is the latest date Ohio sportsbooks can go live per the legislation passed last year.
While no launch date is necessarily calm for operators and suppliers, this one should be a doozy. Jan. 1 falls on a Sunday, which includes an NFL betting slate of 14 games. College football betting will be in full swing too with the Cotton Bowl and Rose Bowl the next day.
CCC will post Ohio sports betting applicants
The next few months could feel incredibly slow for those waiting to bet legally in Ohio. At the very least, there should be plenty of information on who wants into the market to keep them entertained.
The Casino Control Commission is launching a new licensing site June 15, according to the current site. The new site will include who is applying:
As the Commission receives applications, a list of applicants for Type-A, -B, and -C Proprietors and Services Providers will be made available on that webpage on a rolling basis. A public lookup for applicants for other types of licenses will be made available in August when the state’s eLicense system is updated for sports gaming.
That could become quite the unwieldy list if the CCC’s estimates are correct. Part of the reason for the long delay is the extensiveness of the rollout, the regulator said. The CCC expects around 3,000 applications will need to be processed before the universal start date.
Plenty of licenses available
There could be as many as 46 mobile sports betting licenses handed out in Ohio. That means most notable operators that want in should get in.
How many of those online sportsbooks will be ready to launch on Jan. 1 is unknown but might become clearer with the new website. Most of the national brands aim to launch on the first day, with smaller brands launching once their tech is ready.
Operators can start signing customers up before Jan. 1, meaning the ad blitz should start at some point during the NFL season. Local brand BetJACK has already started compiling a database through its free-to-bet app.