Senator Kirk Schuring Unveils New Ohio Sports Betting Bill
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Today, May 6th, 2021, there was a press conference held by Senator Kirk Schuring, one of the leaders of sports betting in Ohio. In this press conference, Sen. Schuring laid out many of the details of his proposed sports betting bill. This is a bill that he and many in Congress are confident in and would like to get passed by the end of June 2021.
One of the biggest notes to take away from this is the fact that sports betting would begin on January 1st, 2022. This means that we now know there is almost no chance that Ohio bettors will be able to wager on the NFL season from the start. Instead, these bettors will need to travel to any one of their neighboring states. Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia all have legal sports betting, and they all have legal online sports betting.
Licenses
There is a lot of unique language in the bill being proposed. One that will grab headlines is the fact that the legislation will allow for 40 sports betting licenses. This is one of the largest amounts in the United States market. Those licenses break down into 20 class A licenses and 20 class B licenses.
Class A licenses would be rewarded to large gambling sites like casinos and racinos for mobile operations. This means that those casinos and racinos will then partner with an online sportsbook, platforms like DraftKings and BetMGM.
Class B licenses are for smaller retail sports betting locations. Casinos and racinos can buy these licenses, but they cannot set up the retail sportsbook on casino or racino property. These licenses are for prop bets and are ideally geared towards bars and restaurants.
Knowing this, if casinos want both online and retail sports betting, it will not only need multiple licenses, but it will also need to open up a brand new location. Casinos and racinos can have multiple class A licenses but can never own more than five at a time. This makes sense as there are 20 class A licenses but only 11 casinos and racinos in the state.
The Casino Control Commission of Ohio will be the regulators of sportsbooks in the state. This would be the overseeing body for everything that happens regarding sports wagering in Ohio if this bill were to pass.
Taxes and Fees
The revenue tax on sports betting will be a solid 10% for both licenses. This money will go towards a general education fund. A portion of the money will also go towards raising awareness and helping those with gambling addictions.
Each license will cost $1 million and will be valid for three years. It seems that the renewal fee will also be $1 million and will simply extend the licenses another 3-years; however, this has not been made concrete as of now.
The Ohio Lottery
One of the most interesting parts of this bill is the Lottery’s new ability to offer sports pools. This is a fascinating system that allows lottery players to purchase a ticket for either side of the wager for a fixed price of $20.
For example, when the Bengals play the Browns, you can purchase a ticket for either team. Then, all of the tickets of the winning side split the money with the Lottery taking 10% off the top. So, if there were 5,000 tickets purchased, there would be a pool of $100,000. The Lottery would take $10,000, and the remaining $90,000 is then split between the owners of the winning ticket.
This is a fun new idea that will hopefully keep the Lottery happy. This idea also gives those unfamiliar with sports betting an easy game to play that will be more accessible.
