The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) continues to push forward in its mission to get mobile sports betting up and running in the Buckeye State.
During its monthly commission meeting held Wednesday in downtown Columbus, the OCCC agreed on a motion to have a set of administrative rules be formally filed with the Common Sense Initiative Office.
The specific of the rules listed include definitions, authority and purpose, construction, waivers and variances, records and retention, hearings, sanctions, provisional licenses, independent testing laboratory certification, access to records, examinations under oath, and subpoena power.
It was noted that the rules for provisional licenses would be presented separately to the Common Sense Initiative Office for expediency.
Processing rules takes time
Jessica Franks, the OCCC director of communications, said it is necessary to approve the provisional licenses before the other rules because those approvals are required in order to begin the application-for-licenses process.
Franks added that the OCCC would like to have the rules filed as early as Wednesday with the Common Sense Initiative Office. Once they’re filed, the Common Sense Initiative Office could take up to two months to review the rules.
“There’s really no minimum time, no maximum time,” Franks said. “A month or two, but there’s no definitive time.”
More batches of rules to be released
It was also announced during the meeting that a fourth and fifth batch of rules will eventually be released for public comment. The fourth batch could be released for comment by the end of February and the fifth batch could be released at the beginning of March.
However, it was noted that the timing for the release of batches of rules depends on how smooth the process is to establish the rules.
The first three batches of rules were released within the first month after Gov. Mike DeWine signed bill HB 29 into law to legalize sports betting in Ohio.
Ohio Casino Control Commission is looking for additional public input on various aspects of the eventual sports betting industry.
(@hoosier3232 for @BetsOhio)https://t.co/lLZTGAwMl0
— Sports Handle (@sports_handle) February 16, 2022
The OCCC’s latest motion with the Common Sense Initiative Office comes a few days after the announcement that it was seeking a second round of comments from stakeholders on its second batch of sports gaming rules. The OCCC also announced this week that it is open to hearing stakeholder comments on draft applications concerning sports betting implementation.
The second batch of sports gaming rules concern general licensing requirements, Type A and Type B proprietor licensing, services provider licenses, general wagering provisions, and equipment.
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