For Ohio and Ohioans, December 1 means sports betting will put an open sign out in a month. The Ohio Casino Control Commission said companies had until December 2 to prove retail and mobile sites were ready for inspection.
Legalized sports betting became a reality when Governor Mike DeWine signed the bills in December 2021. Twenty-five sportsbooks have been granted licenses, including DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM.
Come January 1, all forms of wagering will go live, including retail and online.
Under the law, up to 25 online sports betting licenses are available to proprietors including casinos and professional sports teams, and each can partner with up to two mobile management providers, such as bet365 and Caesars Sportsbook.
The law also allows as many as 40 proprietor licenses to be issued for brick-and-mortar sportsbooks in Ohio, in addition to more than a thousand businesses that could host lottery-linked sports-betting kiosks.
As expected brick and mortar casinos face more specific scrutiny because it’s all live, with more equipment to inspect.
“For safety purposes, the proposed sportsbook area must be free of material construction activities prior to the Commission staff onsite visit,” the commission said.
Inspectors must have a material free sportsbook. Construction should be completed.
“All proprietors and services providers not launching on January 1 must have the relevant compliance materials Commission approved 60 days prior to launch and then ready for verification 30 days prior, as described in their licensing resolution,” the commission said.
“We have had moments before without hard hats where two-by-fours were coming by and people had to duck,” Executive Director Matt Schuler told Covers. “And… the guys are precious cargo, we can’t afford to have them get hit in the noggin.”
Schuler then added, jokingly, “at least not until January 1.”
Ohio was one of the most coveted markets in the U.S., partly because of its large population, estimated at 11.7 million people.
That could fuel problem gambling and officials were concerned about the possibility of an issue with excessive gambling. In anticipation of sports betting coming to Ohio, Bowling Green State University was commissioned to study behaviors and risk factors associated with problem gambling.
The study was funded by the American Gaming Association, MGM Resorts International, DraftKings, NASCAR, the PGA Tour, and others.
The sample size was 4,000 Americans, with 1,553 saying they had done sports betting.
Joshua Grubbs, a professor of psychology at Bowling Green, said the study found that those participating in sports betting were young men, who had a higher income and had access to sports betting.
Grubbs said being able to use a mobile app could be a danger to some.
“I think that betting from the privacy of your own phone will result in some people developing problems that never otherwise would have,” Grubbs recently told PlayOhio. “I don’t think we are talking about an epidemic where 10% of the population develops a gambling addiction, but I do think we will see slight increases in problem gambling cases.”
Amanda Blackford, the Ohio Casino Control Commission director of operations and problem gambling services, said being proactive is key.
“We wanted to make sure that we could respond directly to modality,” Blackford said. “We know with more mobile sports betting and sports betting in the palm of your hand, we had to change some of the resources we were offering to make sure that you could get resources in the palm of your hand as well.”
Some of the things Blackford said she hopes will help problem gamblers is a voluntary exclusion program. That allows those who think they have an issue to either temporarily or permanently ban themselves. The program is called, “Time Out Ohio.”
Another step is a pilot program that having resources for problem gamblers through the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
“We know sports betting and problem gambling is a unique animal,” Blackford said. “It’s very similar to a lot of other substance use and mental health issues, and a lot of time they’re co-current. So you’re struggling with both or we see waves of different struggles. But it’s kind of unique in a lot of ways: the ability to keep it hidden for a lot longer means that by the time somebody does get treatment maybe the severity of the issue is further along.”
Ohio will also have a helpline, 1-800-Gambler, that can assist those in need. Also a campaign aimed at a younger demographic entitled, “Pause Before you Play” will run on television and radio.
In addition to the Bowling Green State University study, the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services is set to put out a gambling survey it releases every five years. That should be available in early 2023.
