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Schuler said the conditional approval means commission staff must still inspect retail locations, check the equipment that will be used in sports betting, and review internal controls to ensure those abide by state regulations. That must happen before the licensees will be approved to start taking wagers.<\/p>\n
All applicants that have been approved so far have been conditionally approved, and final approvals will not take place until closer to the Jan. 1 launch date, or a time when the operator is ready to start taking wagers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The executive director also responded to what he called \u201csome knee-jerk reaction\u201d to SPIRE\u2019s application in gaming trade publications.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrankly, just my own observation because I read publications and what people say: For any brick-and-mortar sportsbook, they have to have a security guard and a scanner for IDs in order to keep out people under 21. That’s not the case with bars and taverns that are going to have gaming,\u201d<\/strong> he said.<\/p>\nHolly Gross, an attorney with Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff who represents SPIRE, said the company will make sure that all of the legal requirements are in place prior to launching.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re really thrilled about today\u2019s decision,\u201d she said. \u201cExcited for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Economic Development Impact Key Factor<\/h2>\n When Ohio lawmakers passed the sports betting law nearly a year ago, they gave the state\u2019s casinos, racinos, and professional sports teams preferred access to licenses. But they also hoped to spur economic development opportunities across the state by encouraging other types of businesses located in the state to apply for licenses.<\/p>\n
SPIRE\u2019s complex is considered a major tourism draw to Ashtabula County, with reports indicating it has a $50 million economic impact.<\/p>\n
The General Assembly did not say you can’t locate one of these this far from a church, this far from a school or daycare, or whatever,\u201d <\/strong>he added. \u201cIt was about, having been found suitable, the economic development piece. That was actually critical in this because that was a threshold matter \u2013 to conduct significant economic development in the county in which the Type B sportsbook would be located. So, they (lawmakers) wanted that for Ohioans who were already engaged in this, and that’s what the law says.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\u201cThere are probably people on all the different sides of this. The commission has one side, and that’s to follow the black-and-white and four corners of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With no discussion, the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) on Wednesday gave conditional approval to SPIRE Institute to serve as a proprietor for a mobile sports betting operator and a retail sportsbook. SPIRE Institute operates a large complex for youth and amateur sports and an academy for elite high school and post-graduate athletes in Geneva, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":243594,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33810,1074],"tags":[81911,83704,80968],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Ohio Sports Betting: SPIRE Institute Conditionally Approved for Licenses<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n