Ohio businesses planning to add sports betting kiosks in the near future have a new option: Elys Game Technology.
The company announced this week that it has received certification for its self-service betting kiosks from independent testing lab Gaming Laboratories International. The certification paves the way for entrance into the Ohio sports betting market.
All kiosk suppliers must meet certification standards set by the Ohio Casino Control Commission. Elys is one of seven companies licensed to partner with Ohio businesses on kiosk operation.
Elys to join three Ohio kiosk suppliers currently with partnerships
Ohio’s betting kiosk market is unique among U.S. sports betting states. Ohio included the option for licensed lottery retailers to add betting kiosks managed by licensed and certified outside companies.
So far, seven companies have been licensed to provide betting kiosks through partnerships with the 798 local businesses licensed to add them. The kiosks are most commonly found in bars and restaurants, but the licenses are open to businesses as varied as golf courses and truck stops.
Only three of the seven kiosk suppliers currently have partnerships and are supplying kiosks:
- Intralot: 720 partnerships
- betIGG: 49 partnerships
- Ubet: 29 partnerships
Elys Game Technology, BetSkybox, Gold Rush Amusements and J&J Ventures are all licensed to supply kiosks but do not have any partnerships listed.
The Ohio sports betting kiosk market continues to grow. Just last week, the Ohio Lottery added 24 new businesses to the list of approved kiosk host locations. The Lottery has pre-approved over 1,500 businesses to add the kiosks, and over 1,100 have applied through the OCCC. The Lottery is updating its list of approvals every Friday.
Here is the current list of licensed Ohio sports betting kiosk locations:
Ohio kiosk market part of Elys’ U.S. expansion
With legal sports betting quickly expanding across the U.S., Elys says entering the Ohio market is an important step in its growth.
“With the GLI 20 and GLI 33 certification of our retail betting platform under the OCCC standards, Elys is continuing to layer the foundational blocks of our expansion throughout the U.S.,” said Mike Ciavarella, executive chairman of Elys Game Technology, Corp.
Elys’ internal analysis of sports betting growth expects U.S. revenue to hit $10 billion in 2023 and potentially $16 to $21 billion by 2026, assuming 42 states are legal by then.
“As previously stated, we continue to hold our estimate that the addressable market for our Elys technology in the U.S. can significantly outsize that of our Italian core operations over the next few years, and thus scaling value creation for our long-term shareholders,” Ciavarella said.
Ohio betting kiosk roll-out saw delays
Ohio’s Jan. 1 sports betting launch included 16 online sportsbooks and 12 retail sportsbooks, along with hundreds of kiosks firing up for the first time.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there were a few issues getting things up and running.
Intralot, which provides the vast majority of Ohio kiosks, took over a month to get its kiosks working properly due to technological issues. After new software updates, those 700-plus kiosks were set to be operational last week.
Businesses that added kiosks were able to take bets using QR codes even while kiosks were down, but many found the delay frustrating after promoting them ahead of Jan. 1.
