Window opens for sportsbooks, other betting providers to apply

COLUMBUS — Ohio is accepting applications from companies that want to open and run sports-betting operations in the state.

The Ohio Casino Control Commission started Wednesday accepting applications for three types of sports-gaming licenses:

■ Providers of online betting platforms, with applications costing $150,000 each.

■ Physical, casino-style betting operations, referred to as sportsbooks. Applications cost $20,000 each.

■ Companies that will run the sports-betting kiosks that will appear in certain businesses with liquor licenses, like bars, restaurants and bowling alleys. The casino control commission will begin sharing the list of applicants today, which will give the public the first concrete idea of what the sports betting picture will look like when it launches Jan. 1, 2023. State regulators have been working on setting the program up since last December, when Gov. Mike Dewine signed a bill legalizing betting on sports in the state.

The application period runs through July 15 for the companies that want to be part of the first wave of sports-betting providers, which will open for wagers in 2023.

The sports-betting bill Dewine signed, House Bill 29, sets limits on the numbers of online betting vendors and physical sportsbook locations.

Generally, sportsbooks only will be allowed in more populated counties, with Cuyahoga County authorized to have up to five of the statewide maximum of 40. Some locations, like a partnership between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Caesars Entertainment at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, already have been announced, pending state regulatory approval.

The Ohio Lottery Commission, another agency setting up state sports-betting regulations, already has been receiving applications from businesses interested in offering sports betting options, approving 555 of them, including 13 in Cleveland.

The applications still require another level of approval from the casino control commission.