Ohio online sports betting launch set for more than a dozen operators on go-live date
More than a dozen sportsbooks are set to start taking bets in Ohio early next month and roughly double that number could go live sometime next year.
Ohio regulators have approved most operators seeking to offer online and/or retail sportsbooks in the state. Now many of the nation’s leading sports betting providers as well as a host of upstarts and smaller companies are preparing to go live in the coming weeks.
Ohio regulators have set 12:01 am local time, Jan. 1, 2023 as the universal launch for both in-person and online sportsbooks.
Among the books set to start taking bets shortly after midnight Jan. 1 include FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Caesars. The four companies have more than 80% of the nation’s sports betting market share by handle and are expected to have similarly large shares in Ohio, despite the proliferation of wagering options.
PointsBet, BetRivers and Barstool sportsbook are also set to go live Jan. 1. Like the aforementioned quartet, these national brands are already live in Ohio neighbors Michigan, Indiana and Pennsylvania.
Hard Rock International, which operates a casino in Cincinnati, is also set to go live with its eponymous sportsbook in the state. Cleveland-based Jack Entertainment, which also manages properties in the state, is set to go live with its self-branded betJACK mobile sportsbook.
Tipico, Betfred and bet365, major international operators that have had smaller scopes in the US, could also go live early next month. All three are partnered with professional sports teams for mobile licenses in the state.
Other potential brands set to go live on or near the launch date include betPARX and SuperBook.
Several other national operators do not appear set to go live on Jan. 1. That includes Betway, Bally Bet and WynnBet. Bally Bet and WynnBet similarly did not go live on Maryland’s first day of legal online sports betting but plan to do so in the coming months.
Ohio’s 2021 sports betting law permits up to 25 mobile operators, several of which plan to go live in Ohio but have not yet launched in any state.
That includes Betr, the Jake Paul-baked microbetting start-up. Ohio is one of the first states where the book has earned a license.
The coming Fanatics sportsbook is also targeting a launch in Ohio next year. The sports betting arm of the massive sporting goods retailer, Fanatics’ sportsbook is expected to be a significant player in the space.
Underdog Fantasy is also set to launch its first-ever sportsbook, likely beginning with the Buckeye State. Other upstart companies including Out the Gate and MVGBet, the Ohio-targeted sports betting arm of Delaware North’s Gamewise sports betting platform, are also set to go live later next year.
Exchange wagering platform Prophet Exchange has also applied for an Ohio gaming license. The platform allows users to buy and sell sports bets in a manner like stocks. These offerings are common in Europe but have only just started going live in the US this year.
Along with online sportsbooks, most Ohio’s casino and hybrid race track “racinos” are preparing to open retail books. Several are expected to start taking bets shortly after midnight Jan. 1.
Multiple Ohio stadiums are also set to open retail sportsbooks in the coming months. Ohio will join Illinois, Arizona, Maryland and Washington D.C. among jurisdictions that permit in-stadium betting options.
Along with the mobile platforms, casino and in-stadium sportsbooks, Ohio permits wagering kiosks at certain grocery stores and other businesses. Combined, Ohio will have one of the most expansive arrays of betting options of any of the more than 30 jurisdictions with at leat one form of legal wagering.
