The Ohio Casino Control Commission announced recently that players will be able to place their first bets on sports via apps or at in-person retail sportsbooks starting January 1st, 2023.
According to the authority, there will be three ways to place a legal bet in Ohio:
- Via a mobile app such as FanDuels or DraftKings.
- By physically going to a casino sportsbook
- At restaurants with betting kiosks.
Restaurants, bars or bowling alleys have the right to apply for two betting kiosks and they will pay $1,000 for each license.
Casinos with sportsbooks will need to pay anything between $50,000 and $100,000 for a sports betting license.
The cost for a mobile sports betting app jumps to $3 million for a 3-year license. After that, companies will need to pay $10 million for a license.
The sports betting industry will be charged a 10% tax on income, and the authority will use the proceeds to build new schools in Ohio.
The regulating body of the new licensed and legal sports betting industry will be the Ohio Gaming Commission.
It is estimated that the market will produce around $3.35 billion for the state once the industry has matured.
It will have taken Ohio over two years to put its new industry into action, after Governor Mike DeWine signed HB 29 – an act to legalize and regulate sports gaming in Ohio – into law on December 22nd, 2021.