The application deadline to be on the starting line of the Ohio sports betting market is coming up Friday. So far, there is not much competition.
That likely will change, according to an Ohio Casino Control Commission spokesperson Monday:
“While I do not have a crystal ball, our team has been speaking with individuals/entities daily regarding sports gaming – I would imagine there will be a significant number of applications submitted this week.”
As of July 8, only 10 companies had applied for OH sports betting licenses.
Who has to meet July 15 deadline?
The first wave of applications is for the bulk of the OH sports betting market:
- Type A (mobile) & B (retail) proprietor licenses, such as casinos and pro teams
- Type C proprietor licenses for companies that want to operate limited sports betting through kiosks
- First-skin mobile sportsbook operators
- Retail sportsbook operators
- Suppliers
Companies that miss the July 15 window can still apply but are not guaranteed to launch Jan. 1.
A second application window opens Friday and runs through August 15 for lottery-licensed establishments that want kiosks and second-skin mobile operators that want to be live at the beginning.
Ohio sports betting applicants so far
Those 10 companies submitted 18 applications.
The Cincinnati Bengals, Hall of Fame Village and JACK Entertainment‘s two properties applied for their mobile proprietor licenses. Out of the four, only the Bengals did not apply for their retail proprietor license.
Elys Game Technology is the only operator that applied so far to run sports betting through kiosks at Ohio Lottery-licensed locations.
OH sports betting operator applicants
Only six operators applied for their mobile operator licenses as of July 8 with three of them also applying for retail licenses:
- BetMGM (+retail)
- DraftKings
- FanDuel (+retail)
- Fanatics (+retail)
- Penn National
- PointsBet
JACK Entertainment was the fourth and final retail operator to apply as of last Friday.
Who could apply this week?
There are still a few operators that said they wanted to be live at the starting line but have not applied yet. That includes Caesars Sportsbook and Hard Rock.
Rush Street Interactive also needs to apply for at least a retail license to run the book at Hall of Fame Village.
Miami Valley Gaming also has not applied. The racino is owned 50/50 by Churchill Downs and Delaware North.
Churchill announced earlier this year it was exiting the online sports betting business. Delaware North operates the Betly brand in Arkansas and West Virginia through a joint venture with GAMING1.
