Ohio Sports Betting Will See Its Legal Launch on January 1, 2023

Legal Ohio sports betting will be launching in a number of months, it has been announced. A few days ago, the Casino Control Commission in Ohio decided that sports betting will universally start in the state on January 1, 2023, less than seven months away.

This date has been hovered around during the last couple meetings of the Casino Control Commission. Last year, legislation allowed for the launch of Ohio sports betting. This date will be the latest date that sportsbooks in Ohio can launch as allowed by that legislation.

As this date is coming up fairly soon, and it will fall right in the middle of the NFL betting season, it is sure to be a complicated and busy time for sportsbook operators to launch in the state. January 1 itself is a Sunday, so it already includes a slate of fourteen NFL games for football betting.

In addition, it is a busy time for the college football betting season, as both the Cotton Bowl and the Rose Bowl take place the following day. The licensing process for the potential Ohio sports betting operations could be quite slow over the next few months. However, during this waiting period, there should be a good amount of information released surrounding which operators hope to launch in the state.

On June 15, a new licensing site from the Casino Control Commission will go live. This site will include a list of what sports betting operators are applying for a license. This list will be updated as the Casino Control Commission fields Ohio sports betting operator applications.

These applications will be broken down into Type A, Type B, and Type C Proprietors and Service Providers. The list will be updated on the website on a basis that will be rolling. In addition, in August, a look for applicants for other types of licenses will be made available to the public. This is when the eLicense system in the state of Ohio will be updated to account for sports gaming.

The Casino Control Commission estimates that they will be seeing a huge amount of applications, which is one of the reasons behind the delay of the launch of Ohio sports betting. It is expected that around 3,000 applications will be going through the Ohio sports betting licensing process prior to the January 1, 2023 launch date.

In the state of Ohio, as many as 46 licenses could be awarded. So, most of the operators of note that hope to get in the market should be able to find an entryway. But, the number of operators that will launch on that January 1, 2023 start date is not yet known.

That number may be released when more details around Ohio sports betting are released in the coming months. The biggest names in sports betting in the United States are expected to launch on that January 1, 2023 launch date. Less notable brands are more likely to be able to launch as their platforms are optimized and ready to, potentially after that date.

Prior to January 1, 2023, sports betting operators will be able to register customers. So, that means the marketing campaigns for the Ohio online sports betting operators will likely be ramping up prior to the launch, most likely during the NFL betting season. In fact, a local brand, BetJACK, has already begun the process of building a potential customer database using its app that is free-to-play.

Written by Allie Nelson, our US Sports Betting Industry Expert.

The featured image for this post was sourced on Getty Images.