Ohio Sports Betting: BetRivers Applies for License, but Not Guaranteed Jan. 1 Launch

Posted by Admin July 25, 2022 Sports

According to the list maintained by the Ohio Casino Control Commission, the owner of BetRivers applied for a mobile management services provider license on July 19, just past a key deadline.

Last Updated:
Jul 25, 2022 4:22 PM ET

Read Time: 2 min

A last-minute rush to apply for Ohio sports betting licenses is over, but a submission by one more mobile sportsbook still trickled in last week.

According to the list maintained by the Ohio Casino Control Commission, the owner of BetRivers applied for a mobile management services provider license on July 19.

The regulator’s list shows BetRivers aims to partner with Hollywood Casino Columbus, which already intends to use Barstool Sportsbook as its first mobile skin. This seems understandable, as the Hollywood Casino is owned by Penn National Gaming Inc., which also owns Barstool Sportsbook.

Barstool Sportsbook’s application for a mobile management services provider license, a permit that would allow the operator to conduct online sports betting on behalf of the casino, was submitted back on June 30. The timing tees up Barstool to launch on Jan. 1, 2023, the “universal start date” for legal sports betting in Ohio.

BetRivers, however, may not be as fortunate. By not applying until after July 15, which was a key deadline for online and retail sports betting licenses, there is no guarantee it will be approved to launch on January 1. Matt Schuler, executive director of the Ohio Casino Control Commission, also warned last week that the regulator will not simply rubber-stamp applications.

Another one

At any rate, the application means there could be one more sportsbook eventually added in a state that is already set to play host to 20 or more.

Ohio’s sports-betting law initially allows for up to 25 online sports betting licenses for “proprietors,” who can partner with up to two mobile management services providers (such as Barstool or BetRivers). However, a proprietor will only be allowed a second mobile skin after showing there is an economic benefit to the arrangement, among other things.

Here is the list, as of last Friday, of companies applying for mobile management services provider licenses and the professional sports organizations, casinos, and racetracks with which they intend to partner: