This week’s casino news takes us on a tour around the United States. We’ll start off in Ohio where sports betting appears to be a long way away.
Ohio Online Sports Betting Will Have To Wait
Ohio bettors, you’ll have to be patient. It was announced this week that online sports betting sites in Ohio are not ready to launch. There was a hope that maybe online sportsbooks in the area would be able to get a full launch in time for the upcoming NFL season. However, that estimation has now changed to the holidays. This, of course, was after Ohio found a way to legalize sports betting back in 2021. It should also be noted that the market has to launch by January 1st, 2023.
The community was hoping that the market would be fast-tracked but it doesn’t seem like that would be the case here. The Ohio Casino Control Commission Executive Director Matt Schuler admitted to the public that they still have some work left to do before it is fully ready for launch.
Ohio is now going to hold up to 25 online sportsbooks with up to 40 retail sportsbooks along with it. This will be one out of the 35 states in the country that have legalized sports betting.
New York Online Casino Bill Doesn’t Make It In 2022
Despite the hope that the online casino bill in New York could get legalized, it doesn’t look like that is going to be happening. The legislative session for the current year is going to be ending on June 2nd. When that date comes around, the hopes of this bill getting passed before 2023 will be wiped away. This bill was first brought around to legalize online slots and table games in the state.
It had received five total votes along with two others with reservations on April 25th when they took a count. It then got stuck in the legislature despite passing through the Senate Racing, Gaming, and Wagering Committee.
This bill is definitely going to be pushed for again in 2023 and it feels like it is just a matter of time before it is able to go fully through. With online sports betting now legal, the casino aspect of this shouldn’t be too far behind.
The state of New York would also receive about $475 million annually from this new proposal if it were to advance according to some early market estimations.
Michigan Online Gambling Revenue Increases During April
Michigan is reporting huge gaming numbers during the month of April. It was just reported by the Michigan Gaming Control Board that commercial and tribal operators picked up $163.1 million in gross revenue for the month. This is currently a 0.6 percent increase compared to the numbers that were reported for March of 2022. It is also impressive considering that the Michigan online gambling market just opened up in January of 2021.
Internet casino revenue in particular was $132.4 million and by far the best month for the industry in Michigan. Online sports betting revenue was only up to about $30.7 million in March.
April didn’t just see an increase in revenue, they also saw a big increase in operators. This could be another reason for the improved success. 15 other operators were given the green light to offer some type of online betting in Michigan. The competition is fierce but it looks like there is a strong appetite for people to bet, so the market continues to grow.