Sports betting in Ohio: What it will look like for fans, businesses as NFL season kicks off

WHIO Staff
·2 min read
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The NFL regular season kicks off tonight.

It’s the start of the first football season where fans will eventually be able to legally place bets on NFL games in Ohio.

Sports betting becomes legal in Ohio on New Year’s Day.

There’s a lot of anticipation about what this means for fans and businesses in the Buckeye State.

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Milano’s General Manager Larry Adkisson expects a full house for Thursday night football.

“It’s the NFL, man. It’s a moneymaker all the way around,” Adkisson said.

In just four months, the NFL will be a new kind of moneymaker in Ohio.

“We’re at the very beginning. We obviously hope it turns out very well because that’s the idea of doing it,” Adkisson said.

People will be able to place bets at casinos, racinos, inside pro sports stadiums, anywhere with a liquor license and online under the new law.

An Ohio Legislative Service Commission estimate says a 10% tax on net revenue from sports betting could bring in $7 million during the first half of 2023, and $24 million in the first full fiscal year.

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The study estimates Ohio’s sports gambling market is expected to be more than $3 billion after “several years of operation.”

98% of that money will go to public and private k-12 schools. The remaining 2% goes toward problem gambling assistance.

The report also estimates $10 million worth of license fee revenues. That will come from those places like bars and restaurants that want to offer sports betting. They’ll have to pay application fees for licenses from the state.

A half percent of those application fees will go to the Ohio Department of Veteran Services to help veterans and their families.

While there are still some questions about exactly how legal sports betting will look in Ohio, one thing’s for sure, the NFL is back, and it is good.

“We’re pretty stoked for it,” Adkisson said.

Sports betting officially becomes legal in Ohio on January 1. That’s Week 17 of the NFL schedule, so fans will be able to place legal bets on the final two weeks of the regular season, plus the playoffs in Ohio.