{"id":157832,"date":"2020-12-09T07:26:46","date_gmt":"2020-12-09T15:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=157832"},"modified":"2020-12-09T11:14:46","modified_gmt":"2020-12-09T19:14:46","slug":"ohio-sports-betting-sponsors-reach-agreement-but-session-ends-soon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ohio-sports-betting-sponsors-reach-agreement-but-session-ends-soon\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohio Sports Betting Sponsors Reach Agreement, But Time’s Running Out for Passage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sponsors of the competing sports betting bills in the Ohio Legislature tell Casino.org<\/em> they\u2019ve reached an agreement on legislative language. However, time is running out to get it passed.<\/p>\n

\"Ohio
Ohio state Sen. John Eklund (R) discusses an amended version of his sports betting bill at Tuesday’s Senate General Government and Agency Committee. (Image: The Ohio Channel)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Tuesday, the Senate General Government and Agency Review Committee accepted a substitute bill for Senate Bill 111 at the request of state Sen. John Eklund (R-Munson Township), who co-sponsors the bill with state Sen. Sean O\u2019Brien (D-Bazetta).<\/p>\n

That bill wasn\u2019t available for review. However, in an interview after the committee meeting, Eklund said the substitute bill came as a result of work between Senate sponsors, sponsors of the House bill, representatives of Gov. Mike DeWine\u2019s administration, the Ohio Department of Taxation, and others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the cake is baked, for all practical purposes,\u201d Eklund told Casino.org<\/em>.<\/p>\n

HB 194 Revisited<\/h2>\n

\u201cThe amended version of (SB) 111 is the same amended version of (HB) 194,\u201d Greenspan told Casino.org<\/em> Tuesday night. \u201cIt’s essentially the same bill.\u201d State Rep. Dave Greenspan (R-Westlake) sponsored House Bill 194 <\/a>with state Rep. Brigid Kelly (D-Cincinnati).<\/p>\n

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The House sports betting bill<\/a> cleared that chamber in May with an 83-10 vote. Despite that, Eklund said the new Senate Bill would be the one used if sports betting is to pass through the legislature. That would require the House to pass that bill if the Senate passes SB11.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The committee, though, didn’t vote on the bill Tuesday. The next scheduled committee meeting is next Tuesday, though Eklund said the committee may meet before then.<\/p>\n

After Wednesday, the state House has two optional sessions listed on the legislative calendar for Dec. 16 and 17. The Senate has a session currently scheduled for Dec. 17 and three other optional sessions between Thursday and Dec. 22.<\/p>\n

One Skin Per Property<\/h2>\n

The amended bill limits sports betting licenses to Ohio\u2019s four casinos and seven racinos. They would pay a $100,000 annual application fee and a $100,000 annual license fee. Fraternal organizations are no longer eligible entities for sports betting licenses, Eklund said.<\/p>\n

It also permits mobile apps. The casinos and racinos would have one skin per location. That language could keep operators like DraftKings, PointsBet, theScore, and Fox Bet from entering the state.<\/p>\n

Each of those operators has agreements with Penn National Gaming to operate sports betting skins. PNG has two casinos and two racinos. But since reaching those agreements last year, the company has purchased a share of Barstool<\/a> Sports. It’s using the sports media outlet as its own in-house sportsbook.<\/p>\n

All other casinos and racinos have established partnerships or in-house brands. See the map below for more information on those arrangements.
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