Ohio’s lawmakers passed a sports betting bill late last year. Since then, the Ohio Casino Control commission has been creating rules, applications, forms and more to prepare for the Jan. 1 launch.
Ohioans can cast bets at area casinos, racinos, bars or on apps on their phones.
Locations in Clark and Champaign counties that were approved by the Ohio Casino Control Commission for a Class C license, which is necessary to offer legal sports betting in their buildings were:
- Che’s Rustic Lounge on North Bechtle Avenue in Springfield.
- Fricker’s on Upper Valley Pike in Springfield.
- Victory Lanes on Commerce Road in Springfield.
- Taylor’s Tavern on Dayton Springfield Road near Enon.
- The Layne Lounge on McAdams Street in New Carlisle.
- Brackens Pub on Miami Street in Urbana.
Approved businesses filed for their licenses earlier this year. Mindy Taylor, owner of Taylor’s Tavern, said she filed for her license in July. An option for sports betting should appear on the lottery machines currently inside the business, officials told her on Thursday, but she’s unsure when that will be happening.
Her business is also closed on New Year’s Day.
“We’re just hanging out and waiting to see when things happen,” she said.
Customers can bet on sporting events in a way similar to participating in the lottery, Taylor said. If they win, customers can cash out at the tavern up to a certain amount: $599. Winnings above that will have to be collected from a casino.
The tavern recently rolled out its dartboards and pool table, two recreations that were tucked away at the pandemic’s start. Taylor said she thought the option of sports betting could be a recreation that encourages people to take up space in her business longer and spend money on food and drinks.
Fricker’s on Upper Valley Pike is expected to have sports gambling apps installed on their current machines by Jan. 1, according to manager Terry Roudebush.
He said many customers who come to Fricker’s watch sporting events on one of the many TV sets in the building and also use the building’s existing lottery machines, so he anticipates the option to bet on sports will be “met with enthusiasm.”
Fricker’s will not be cashing out winning wagers, though. Customers instead can go to a licensed lottery location to collect their winnings, Roudebush said.
Not all businesses that received the licensing for legal sports gambling will be offering it, however.
Dimitri Zavakos, of Victory Lanes bowling alley, said sports betting machines will not be offered at his business come January.
When he applied for his license, he was not aware that apps would be made available for sports gambling in the state.
“I think a lot of people are just going to go online to do it,” he said.
He also fears the amount of money he’d need to have on hand to cash out winning bets wouldn’t be ”feasible or safe” for his business.
The state estimates that sports betting will be a $1 billion industry in Ohio in its first year or so of operation, growing to $3.35 billion within a few years, according to the Associated Press.
Advocates for gambling addiction awareness and officials of the Ohio Casino Control Commission are working on programs to address problem gambling and addiction that will stem from sports gambling in the state.
The commission is creating advertising to alert people that there is help and are expanding Ohio’s voluntary exclusion program that gives people the ability to ban themselves from casino and racino properties.
Officials have said they have already seen an increase in calls from people who are suffering from sports gambling addiction and believe the legalization of and the removal of stigma around sports wagering have helped people come forward.
The commission’s gambling helpline is available 24/7 at 800-589-9966, or at www.Beforeyoubet.org.
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