OHIO SPORTS BETTING HAS BEEN SIGNED INTO LAW BY OHIO GOVERNOR MIKE DEWINE

A few days ago, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed into law Ohio sports betting. With this key signature in place, sports betting in Ohio could be ready to launch this coming year, in 2022. Earlier this month, Governor DeWine indicated his support and approval of sports betting legislation that has been passed by legislators in Ohio.

Because of the Ohio governor’s previous outward support for the legalization of sports betting in the state, the signature was not a surprise. Now, regulations for the new online sports betting market in Ohio need to be created by the Ohio Casino Control Commission. State Senator Kirk Schuring has indicated that regulators want to get Ohio sports betting launched as soon as they can — hopefully before 2023.

The sports betting market in the state of Ohio has potential to be one of the country’s biggest. It is estimated that it could generate almost $1 billion in gross gaming revenue. The gross gaming revenue is set to be taxed at a rate of 10%. This could generate as much money in taxes for Ohio as $90 billion.

As of this writing, the state of Ohio is home to around 11.7 million residents. And, the state also has 9 major professional sports franchises. Plus, there are 13 colleges in Ohio that have NCAA Division I athletics.

Ohio neighbor Pennsylvania is home to 12.8 residents and is currently the third largest sports betting market in the country. Illinois has 12.6 million residents and is the fourth largest sports betting market in the country.

Now, the question on potential Ohio sportsbook operators’ minds is, how does one receive an Ohio sports betting license? As of this writing, there are twenty five mobile sports betting licenses available in the state for professional teams, professional leagues, racinos, and casinos.

Each of these entities is entitled to one skin respectively, however they can potentially receive another if they are able to prove an incremental economic benefit of this additional reception to the state.

Other important factors to know about Ohio sports betting are:

• For live betting, official league data will not be required.
• Ohio sports betting must be launched by January 1st, 2023 at the latest.
• However, it can start earlier than this date as long as the date is set by a regulator.
• Through June 30, 2023, provisional gaming licenses can be given.
• Operators are not able to carry forward negative revenue for tax purposes.
• Esports betting on professional esports is legal.
• Betting on fixed odds horse racing is not allowed.

Written by Allie Nelson, our US Sports Betting Industry Expert. You can learn more about our author's expertise here.