Cincinnati Bengals Apply for Sports Betting License in Ohio
Things are going well for the Buckeye State. Sports betting will most likely start up throughout the state in the beginning of 2023, and they’ve gotten quite a few applications submitted already. According to a July 13 press release, the Cincinnati Bengals have applied for one of these licenses.
Along with their application submission, the Bengals have announced a partnership with Betfred, which is a U.K.-based sportsbook. This will assist them in diversity with promotion and marketing tactics, and the team stated that this is why Betfred was chosen. This announcement came only five days after the Bengals’ application was submitted.
There are 85 sports betting licenses available for the entire state of Ohio, and eight businesses have submitted their applications already. The first wave of applications for licenses opened on June 15 and are due by July 15. These licenses are available for multiple sports betting operators, including retail sportsbooks, kiosks, and online operators.
The Bengals are the only NFL franchise, and only professional sports franchise, to apply for a license so far. The license itself cost the team upwards of $3.3 million, but market analysts believe that this money will be made back fairly quickly, as the Ohio sports betting market should grow rapidly once it begins.
Window Closing for Applications
In the initial announcement of the sports betting application windows, the Ohio Casino Control Commission had stated that those who wanted a guaranteed license must submit their Ohio sports betting applications by July 15th. However, only eight of the 85 licenses have been filled. The Commission is now stating that they will take applications outside the window, as the window was only meant to serve as a way to make applications first-come-first-serve.
Many in the sports betting industry believe a few more applications will be submitted before the window closes. Geoff Zochodne, a sports betting journalist, stated:
“I’m actually planning a wedding right now. And if I had only 8 people out of 85 say that they were coming, I think I’d be having a panic attack at that point…But part of party etiquette is that you don’t want to show up too early. Some people even like to be fashionably late to parties.”
This is good news for Ohio, as the Casino Control Commission was expecting a lot more applications. In fact, they were expecting to be overwhelmed throughout the month, according to earlier statements.
What Will Ohio Sports Betting Look Like?
According to market analysts, Ohio sports betting should make more than $1 billion in its first year alone. Soon after, it will most likely surpass $3 billion. Some analysts think that it could move into the double digits, between $8 and $12 billion, in a short period of time.
This is predicted because Ohio is an industry-first state. The guidelines and taxes for sports betting are far less harsh than those for other states, such as New York. This means that operators will see a bit more income, and marketing won’t be very restricted.
