Ohio: DraftKings, BetMGM, Penn and PointsBet among first sportsbook license applicants ahead of next week's deadline

Ohio has received its first sports betting license applications, with renowned operators DraftKings, BetMGM, Penn National Gaming and PointsBet among the parties seeking to enter the online market. Elys Game Technology, JACK Entertainment and the Hall of Fame Village also want in, having applied for other types of licenses. A small number of applications have been submitted thus far, with a deadline set for July 16.

Sports betting operators hoping to launch on January 1, 2023, must submit their license applications by that date. It is expected the Ohio Casino Control Commission will receive a large number of requests in the final week window, especially given many operators have agreed to market access deals but have not submitted their petitions yet.

Penn National, DraftKings, BetMGM and PointsBet are the only parties that have submitted online provider applications thus far. These entities must partner with a Type-A sports betting license holder to offer online services, and while no partnerships were noted on the applications, three of the four operators have already secured market access.

Penn National has it easy, given it operates four Hollywood-branded casinos in Ohio, meaning it can partner its Barstool Sportsbook brand with any of these locations. The new market could be a big opportunity for the company, which can sell access to up to seven online skins after accounting for Barstool.

One of those skins would be earmarked for PointsBet, which issued Penn National 509,128 shares of its stock in January at an issue price of A$6.88, or about $2.5 million based on exchange rates at the time. BetMGM, on its part, has access through the MGM Northfield Casino, while DraftKings has yet to publicly announce what Type-A license holder it will be partnering with.

There can be as many as 46 sportsbooks in the market, meaning much more applications can be expected, given just four mobile and three retail operators applied thus far. The Ohio Casino Control Commission, which updates its list of applicants on a weekly basis on Fridays, posted three new parties on the week ending July 1: the aforementioned Barstool Sportsbook, plus Elys Game Technology and Hall of Fame Village, all three for different licenses.

Ohio-based casino operator JACK Entertainment, which runs two venues in the state, has applied for both Type A (online) and Type B (retail) sports betting licenses for its Cleveland and Thistledown Racino locations. The company launched its upcoming betJACK sportsbook app as a free-to-play product earlier this year, ahead of the market’s debut in 2023.

JACK Cleveland

The Hall of Fame Village has applied for both Type A and Type B licenses. And on its part, Elys is the only company to have applied for a Type C license for sports betting kiosks thus far. The firm, which is seeking to expand its bars and restaurants model it first launched in D.C., submitted an Ohio application on June 29.

It would seem, however, a safe bet that more applications will take place ahead of the July 16 deadline. Caesars Sportsbook, Bally's Interactive, betPARX, Tipico and Fubo Gaming have all announced partnerships with pro sports franchises or leagues to secure market access in the state, but have yet to submit their license applications. 

Caesars owns Eldorado Scioto Downs in Franklin County, making it a sure candidate. Hard Rock operates a casino as well, in Cincinnati. WynnBET, MaximBet and Kindred -the latter secured access for its Unibet brand through a deal with Penn National- have all announced market access agreements at some point in these last two years.

Rush Street Interactive negotiated second-skin access with Penn in February 2021, but whether RSI needs that access depends on its deal with the Hall of Fame Resort and Entertainment Company. Both parties announced a partnership to bring sports betting to the Hall of Fame Village last December.