The long wait for a first glimpse of the Ohio sports betting market is finally over.
The Ohio Casino Control Commission on Dec. 21 released an initial list of retail and online sportsbooks allowed to begin operating on Jan. 1, 2023. Twelve retail sportsbooks and 16 online sportsbooks are fully licensed to begin business on the universal start date.
With just 10 days to go before the launch of sports betting in Ohio, many had wondered how many sportsbooks would be open for business on Day 1.
We now know which sportsbooks can hit the market on Jan. 1. The commission notes that these sportsbooks do not have to begin taking bets that early — some may choose to open later — and that others could still be added to the list before the universal start date.
The OCCC also notes that conditionally approved businesses that are not on this initial list “have likely made a business decision to not launch on the universal start date.”
12 Ohio retail sportsbooks fully licensed
The following Ohio retail sportsbooks have been approved:
- Belterra Park (FanDuel)
- FC Cincinnati at Taft’s Ale House (Superbook)
- Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati (Hard Rock Digital)
- Hollywood Casino Columbus (Barstool Sportsbook)
- Hollywood Casino Toledo (Barstool Sportsbook)
- Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway (Barstool Sportsbook)
- Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley (Barstool Sportsbook)
- JACK Cleveland Casino (betJACK)
- JACK Thistledown Racino (betJACK)
- Northfield Park (BetMGM)
- Scioto Downs (Caesars)
- The Cincinnati Reds at the Machine Room (BetMGM)
16 Ohio online sportsbooks fully licensed
The following Ohio online sportsbooks can begin taking bets as soon as midnight Jan. 1.
- Barstool Sportsbook
- Betfred Sports
- betJACK
- BetMGM
- Betr
- BetRivers
- Betway
- bet365
- Caesars
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
- Gamewise/MVGBet
- PointsBet
- Hard Rock Digital
- SuperBook
- Tipico
Ohio sports betting market to be robust
The OCCC has been working through a laborious licensing and regulatory process over the past six months. As of Dec. 14, it had conditionally approved a total of 21 online sportsbooks and 22 retail sportsbooks.
The 28 sportsbooks that are now fully licensed represent about 65% of those 43 companies, so the list is likely to grow sooner than later.
Many of the online sportsbooks on their way to Ohio, like DraftKings and FanDuel, have already released pre-launch bonus offers in Ohio that will deliver bonuses and other promotions as soon as their apps are live on Jan. 1.
Several retail sportsbooks have New Year’s Eve plans to take bets as soon as the clock strikes midnight. The Hard Rock Sportsbook at Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati, Barstool Sportsbook at Hollywood Casino Columbus and the BetMGM Sportsbook at MGM Northfield Park are among the retail locations with festivities and betting planned for 12:01 a.m. Jan. 1.
In addition to the retail and online sportsbooks, the Ohio market will introduce a massive rollout of sports betting kiosks. Over 1,000 businesses are licensed to add kiosks as early as Jan. 1 provided they pass final testing and licensing requirements.
