Sports betting has become legal in the state of Ohio after it was signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine last week.
Now that the laws legalizing sports betting are officially on the books in Ohio it is expected that the industry will officially launch sometime in 2022. The next step in making that happen is the creation of industry regulations by the Ohio Casino Control Commission.
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What is known already is that Ohio could be one of the top sports betting markets in the country with estimated annual revenue coming close to $1 billion. Sports betting revenues will be taxed at 10 percent which could mean an annual tax haul in the $90 million range or higher.
To see how Ohio could compared to other markets where sports betting has already been legalized the best comparisons may be Pennsylvania and Illinois. The current population of Ohio is around 11.7 million people, while Pennsylvania has 12.8 million and Illinois 12.6 million. Pennsylvania ranks third in national sports betting markets, and Illinois ranks fourth.
One other thing Ohio also has going for it is that it is home to nine professional sports franchises and 13 schools with NCAA Division I sports.
Under the new sports betting laws there will be 25 mobile sports betting licenses available to professional teams, leagues, casinos and racinos in the state. Each entity will be allowed one online skin each unless they can prove being awarded another skin would provide economic benefit to the state.
One other noteworthy bit of information found in the new laws include terms that sports betting must start by January 1, 2023. It can of course be started earlier on a date set by the state regulator. Provisional sports betting licenses can be awarded through June 30, 2023.