Ohio’s sports teams want in on state’s sports betting legalisation

Ohio’s professional sports teams are in favour of legalising sports betting and want to be the ones to offer the action.

US.- A group of eight professional sports teams have announced their support the potential legalisation of sports betting in Ohio.

Legislators are expected to introduce a new bill soon, but the main debate in the state still surrounds how sports betting should be implemented.

The group of sports teams, plus the Memorial Gold Tournament in Dublin, have now said they want sportbook licences to be limited to their own franchises and to the state’s casinos and rancinos, which would mean 20 available licences in the state.

The teams are proposing to sublicense their own platforms to an outsider game provider. The teams themselves would not be involved in the daily operations of the sports betting platforms, the Ohio Casino Control Commission said.

The teams are asking for the Ohio Casino Control Commission to be made the regulatory agency in charge of supervising the sports betting market. They want official data from the NFL and MLB to be used to settle bets.

Until now, there have been two proposals about how licenses should be distributed. Casinos want to have exclusivity over sports betting, claiming they are the only players that can offer a safe and legal gaming experience.

On the other hand, the Ohio Fair Gaming Commission is proposing a hybrid model that would allow bars, restaurants, and small businesses to be able to offer sports betting via kiosks that currently offer Keno gaming and lottery.

The Ohio Fair Gaming Commission’s head, Greg Beswick, said: “By letting casinos have sportsbooks under the Ohio Casino Control Commission and other businesses have sportsbooks under the Ohio Lottery Commission. All lottery profits go toward education.”