NFL franchise the Cincinnati Bengals has applied for a sports betting license in the state of Ohio, as have FanDuel and Fanatics.
The team becomes the fifth business – but the first professional sports team – to apply for an Ohio operator license. It is the fourth to apply for approval as a type-A sports gaming proprietor – which would allow it to offer an online product – following Jack Cleveland Casino, Thistledown Racino and Hall of Fame Village.
Those other three business all also applied for a type-B license, which would also allow for operation of a retail betting facility.
Elys Technology, meanwhile, has applied for a type-C license, allowing for operation of sports betting at a licensed bar.
At the same time, FanDuel and Fanatics have become the latest brands seeking application for a mobile management services provider license. They join BetMGM, PointsBet, DraftKings and Penn National Gaming.
These businesses would then be expected to partner with type-A licensees, allowing those licensees to offer an online product operated by the management service provider.
A type A licensee may contract with up to two mobile management services providers, but only if it “demonstrates that the second contract would generate an incremental economic benefit to the state without preventing another type A proprietor from securing a contract with a mobile management services provider”.
While FanDuel has a long history in the US betting market, Fanatics is a newer entrant, currently better known as a supplier of sports apparel. However, it has taken steps to enter the betting space more seriously lately, having been approved for a sports betting license in Maryland last month.
Rumors have swirled about how Fanatics intends to develop or acquire the technology necessary to launch a sports betting platform. In April a spokesperson for the business denied a partnership was in place with Amelco, while last month the business did not comment on reports that it was looking to acquire German betting giant Tipico.