Ohio to Launch Sports & Esports Betting on January 1st, 2023
From the 1st of January 2023, natives of the US State of Ohio will be able to enjoy widespread sports and esports betting across the state.
While Ohio has already legalised these forms of wagering, the state will become the latest of over half the member states that will offer sports and, in some cases, esports betting in the USA when the stalls, machines and web or mobile sites all go live across the state at 12.01 am on January 1st.
What is the situation in Ohio for Launch Day?
Currently, the situation in Ohio is that sports and esports betting are both legal. Still, the licensed companies that have been granted licenses to operate within the state, will only see their products go live at 12.01am on New Year’s Day.
Residents of the state will be able to bet in person at a number of venues across the state where betting companies have teamed up with sporting organisations or similar, as well as in bars and other places where the Ohio State Lottery sells tickets and pays out prizes.
And, of course, customers will be able to bet online using a number of mobile and web-based sites too.
A number of these sites, such as DraftKings, Caesars, BetMGM and Bet365 Sport, are offering customers Welcome Offers to sign up before the 1st January opening date.
While these are not specialist esports betting sites, most, if not all, of them are likely to offer a significant range of esports bets to customers.
Estimates suggest that around 25 online sports and esports betting sites will launch in the state on or around the 1st January opening date. However, that number does depend on whether the Ohio Casino Control Commission decided to grant licenses to some operators or not.
Can Ohioans claim betting bonuses when they sign up?
Yes, almost all the sites set to begin operations from January 1st will offer sports and/or esports betting bonuses as an incentive to sign up with them.
The value of these bonuses and the criteria required to activate and use them differ from one sportsbook service to another, but all are generally similar, with the aim of attracting customers to sign up with them.
How much will Ohio generate from the Launch?
With a 10% tax rate on sports gambling, Ohio is expected to generate a market of around $600m-$800m in bets per annum initially, with around $60m-$80m being generated through taxes.
2% of the tax raised through gambling in Ohio will be spent on issues pertaining to problem gambling.
So with January 1st looking, fans of professional sports, college sports, horse racing and esports will be keen to see just how Ohio embraces sports betting across the state.
