CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns, JACK Casino and JACK Thistledown Racino took the next step toward live sports gambling Wednesday by receiving approval from the state for mobile and retail sportsbooks.
The Ohio Casino Control Commission heard and approved applications from eight businesses Wednesday, including the three in the Greater Cleveland. All three got conditional approval for a physical, casino-style sports betting operation called a sportsbook. They also got the OK to run online betting platforms.
Also approved at Wednesday’s meeting were applications from the Columbus Crew, Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, the Cincinnati Reds, the Hollywood Casino in Toledo and the Hollywood Mahoning Valley racino near Youngstown.
Under Ohio’s sports gambling law, sports teams, casinos, racinos and sports venues get the first shot at licenses for retail sportsbooks and mobile platforms.
The Cleveland Guardians and Cleveland Cavaliers have also applied for retail sportsbook licenses and licenses for mobile betting. Since under the law they get preference, their applications will likely be heard soon.
House Bill 29, the law that legalized sports gambling in Ohio, created three kinds of betting. Retail sportsbooks, mobile betting and sports gaming kiosks that can be found in bars and taverns.
The Browns and JACK are now approved to run both sportsbooks and mobile betting platforms, although they’ll need to submit more information such as site plans to the Ohio Casino Control Commission in the future.
So far 22 businesses have applied for mobile sports betting licenses, and 26 have applied for retail sportsbook, according to the Casino Control Commissions’ website.
Ohio rules created 40 “Type-B” licenses for brick-and-mortar sportsbooks, but limit Cuyahoga, Franklin and Hamilton to just five in each county. In Cuyahoga County there were seven applicants: the three sports teams, the two JACK operations, plus the downtown Harry Buffalo and Ravencrest LLC. Should the Guardians and Cavs receive approval, Cuyahoga’s limit would be reached before Harry Buffalo’s and Ravencrest’s applications are heard.
It also created 25 “Type-A” licenses, which let a company run two mobile-betting apps.
The third license – “Type-C” – allows businesses with a liquor permits to have sports gambling kiosks. The Ohio Casino Control Commission approves these applications, but only after the Ohio Lottery Commission preapproves them. About 1,300 businesses have been preapproved by the lottery.
Most of the Type-C applicants are bars and restaurants, although Kroger and Acme Fresh Market have applied for kiosks.
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