Ohio State has announced further details from their upcoming sports-betting bill at a press-conference this morning. Bill sponsor Senator Kirk Schuring explained the that two different licenses will be available with a total of 40 available.
Details emerging:
40 potential licenses will be issued at a cost of $1,000,000 per license. They will come in two distinct types:
- Type A – 20 Licences
- Type B – 20 Licences
Sen. Schuring explained that Type A licenses would be available to existing facilities that can “bank the bet”- which includes the state’s existing racinos and 11 casinos. License holders will have the ability to partner with operators who offer mobile gambling and casino apps.
“Type A license is a licensee who has a facility, many of them are already in existence, where they can bank the bet,”.. “Under the Type A license they can hire, as an operator, a mobile application. Now I’m not showing preference to anybody, but just to make sure what we’re talking about, it’s the FanDuels, DraftKings, Barstool, whatever. We’re going to let the free market decide that. And if they want to partner with a mobile application, those entities can do that.”
Schuring made sure to point out that Ohio will operate an open, free market – welcoming new existing operators to compete in the market.
“We believe in the free market, so if there’s another entity out there right now, notwithstanding the 11 we’re talking about, that can come up with the money to bank the bet, come to Ohio… We want you to come to Ohio.”
More information will be released soon.
Type B Licences: Sen Schuring explained what the Type B licenses would cover:
“A class B license sportsbook is a brick-and-mortar sportsbook” .. “There’s a new phenomenon out there right now, it’s called proposition betting. And so what we’re saying is under a Class B license, a brick-and-mortar sportsbook, you can open up a facility with big screen TVs and mobile apps and proposition betting. We think it will be an economic development tool for Ohio.”
Other takeaways from Sen Schurings press-conference:
- Ohio’s Casino Control Commission will be be the regulator for the sportsbook industry
- The state’s Casino control commission is responsible for deciding whether betting on collegiate sports will be permitted
- The tax rate will be 10%
- The $1m license fee will either be either a yearly or tri-annual charge
- Revenue generated from the regulated sportsbetting industry in Ohio will go to towards education and gambling addiction treatment and education programs
If the sports betting bill is approved, OH sports betting would not begin until January 1st, 2022.
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