Committee approves Ohio betting bill, launch delayed to April 2022
| By Daniel O'Boyle
Ohio’s Senate Gaming Committee has unanimously approved a bill to allow sports betting in the state, after including an omnibus amendment that would delay the market opening to 1 April but increase the number of licensees.
If passed, the bill – SB 176 – was set to come into force on 1 October, which would kick off the process to allow operators to apply for licences. However, Kirk Schuring, chair of the Senate Select Committee on Gaming, said that a delay would allow all operators to begin on equal footing when the market opens.
“Everybody we’ve talked to says they want an equal start time, so applications for these licences will open up on January 1, 2022”
Licences will then be approved from April 1, 2022.