A bill to legalise sports betting – allowing 20 land-based and 20 online licences plus an offering from the lottery – has officially been introduced in the state of Ohio.
olumbSenate Bill 176 was introduced by Niraj Antani and details the legalisation and regulation of the sports betting market, which may open on January 2022, within the state.
Two types of licence are permitted under the new legislation. Type A licences allow vendors to offer sports betting through an online sports pool under one brand name each, with a single controlling person not permitted to able to obtain more than five of these licences. Type B licences (capped at a maximum of 20 per vendor) allow sports gaming agents to offer sports gaming at one retail facility.
Both licence types require a nonrefundable $1m licence fee, deposited into the Sports Gaming Revenue Fund. There is also a $10,000 nonrefundable application fee.