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Get your party hats on, because it’s time to get down. The long wait will finally be over on Sunday at 12:01 a.m. as Ohio sports betting will officially be legal in the Buckeye State.
Maybe if you’re lucky Ohio State’s playoff against Georgia will go to five overtimes and you’ll be able to live-bet the Buckeyes early Sunday morning?
Ohio will become the 32nd state in the country to launch legal, regulated sports betting.
A long time coming
Sports betting will launch in the Buckeye State at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023.
The Ohio Casino Control Commission has conditionally approved 22 Type A (online sports betting license) applicants to offer sports betting in the state. Stark Enterprises, a high-end real estate development company, is the only applicant waiting for a ruling on its online sports betting application. The company submitted its application on Oct. 19.
Here are the conditionally approved online sports betting license holders. All online sports betting operator partners are also included in parenthesis:
- JACK Cleveland Casino (PlayUp Interactive – awaiting approval)
- JACK Thistledown Racino (WynnBET – awaiting approval)
- Pro Football Hall of Fame Village (Betr)
- Cincinnati Bengals (Betfred)
- MGM Northfield Park (BetMGM)
- Scioto Downs (Caesars Sportsbook)
- Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati (Hard Rock Digital)
- Cleveland Browns (Bally Bet – awaiting approval)
- Columbus Blue Jackets (BetFanatics)
- Crew SC Stadium Company (Tipico)
- Muirfield Village Golf Club (Parx Interactive)
- Cincinnati Reds (Underdog Sports Wagering – awaiting approval)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (Fubo Gaming – ceased operations)
- Hollywood Casino Columbus (Barstool Sportsbook)
- Cleveland Guardians (bet365)
- Hollywood Gaming Dayton Raceway (BetRivers)
- Belterra Park (FanDuel)
- Hollywood Casino Toledo (DraftKings)
- Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley (PointsBet Ohio)
- FC Cincinnati Holdings (SuperBook)
- SPIRE Institute (Out the Gate – awaiting approval)
- Miami Valley Gaming and Racing (MVGBet)
MGM Northfield Park will open its retail sportsbook at 12:01 a.m. and will select one guest at random to place the first sports bet at the retail facility.
Additionally, the BetMGM Sportsbook at the Cincinnati Reds’ Great American Ball Park will open at 11 a.m. and will select one of its longtime season ticket holders to place the first wager at the stadium.
The Cleveland Cavaliers initially came to an agreement with Fubo Gaming to run its online sports betting program, but Fubo ceased operations earlier this year. No new sports betting for the NBA franchise had been announced. The Cavaliers have partnered with Caesars Sportsbook to run its retail sportsbook facility at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
Ohio retail sports betting set
The majority of applicants for Type B (retail sports betting) licenses have receive conditional approval from the Ohio Casino Control Commission.
The commission has approved 22 applicants so far to offer retail sports betting at their facilities. You can see them here, along with their approved retail sports betting providers in parenthesis:
- JACK Cleveland Casino (betJACK)
- JACK Thistledown Racino (betJACK)
- Pro Football Hall of Fame (BetRivers)
- MGM Northfield Park (BetMGM)
- Scioto Downs (Caesars Sportsbook)
- Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati (Hard Rock)
- Cleveland Browns (Bally Bet – awaiting approval
- Columbus Blue Jackets (BetFanatics)
- Muirfield Village Golf Club (no partner listed)
- Cincinnati Reds (BetMGM)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (Caesars Sportsbook)
- Hollywood Casino Columbus (Barstool Sportsbook)
- Cleveland Guardians (BetFanatics)
- Hollywood Gaming Dayton Raceway (BetFanatics)
- Belterra Park (FanDuel)
- Hollywood Casino Toledo (Barstool Sportsbook)
- Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley (Barstool Sportsbook)
- FC Cincinnati Holdings (SuperBook)
- Lori’s Roadhouse (no partner listed)
- SPIRE Institute (Out the Gate – awaiting approval)
- Miami Valley Gaming and Racing (no partner listed)
- Crew SC Stadium Company (Tipico)
Four applicants are still waiting for a ruling on their Type B license applications.
- Harry Buffalo (no partner listed)
- Phantom Fireworks (no partner listed)
- Ravencrest Partner (no partner listed)
- Stark Enterprises (no partner listed)
20 online sports betting operators
In total, 20 online sports betting operators have been approved by the state to accept bets and all are eligible to launch on Jan. 1.
- BetMGM
- PointsBet
- DraftKings
- Barstool Sportsbook
- FanDuel
- BetFanatics
- Caesars Sportsbook
- Hard Rock
- Betfred Sports
- bet365
- SuperBook
- Tipico Ohio
- Betr
- Parx Interactive
- Underdog Sports Wagering
- Out the Gate
- MVGBet
- BallyBet
- BetRivers
- Digital Gaming Corporations
BallyBet, Bet365, Betfred, BetMGM, Betr, BetRivers, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel, Hard Rock, PointsBet, SuperBook, and Tipico Sportsbook have all indicated they will be up and running at 12:01 a.m.
“We’re excited to ring in the New Year with the launch of our top-rated DraftKings Sportsbook app in Ohio,” said Matt Kalish, DraftKings Co-Founder and President, DraftKings North America, in a press release. “Ohioans are passionate sports fans with hometown pride, and we’re thrilled to offer them a variety of ways to have more skin in the game ahead of the 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship and the NFL playoffs.”
Ohio sports betting kiosks
Additionally, 1,057 Type C (sports betting kiosk) hosts have been approved for the state. These entities, which are mostly bars, supermarkets, bowling alleys, and restaurants, will be able to host kiosks at their establishments for customers to make simple sports bets.
The company with the most approved kiosk locations? Kroger has received approval to host sports betting kiosks at 42 locations throughout the state. Giant Eagle Supermarkets has received conditional approval to operate kiosks at 10 locations, Fricker’s Wings Sports Bar has received approval for 17 locations, and Winking Lizard has received approval for five locations.
Customers will only be allowed to bet $700 a week at these kiosks.
Robert is an expert on sports betting in the United States, specifically the legalization process and regulation surrounding the industry.
