The Ohio Lottery has modified its rules on cashing in sports bets in response to complaints that the rules would force bars and restaurants to keep too much cash on hand and put those businesses at risk for robbery.
The new rules will make it easier for winning bets to be cashed at any lottery retailer.
“We have clarified Rule 3770:3-8-02 to make explicitly clear that Type C proprietors may allow non-host locations (all lottery retailers) to cash sports gaming prizes if they choose to do so,” Lottery Director Pat McDonald wrote to members of the Ohio General Assembly. “This was always the Lottery’s intention but is now clarified in rule to avoid stakeholder confusion on this issue.”
Ohio lawmakers authorized three kinds of sports betting last December, including kiosk bets regulated jointly by the lottery and Ohio’s Casino Control Commission. Lottery officials have pre-authorized more than 1,100 Ohio businesses to host sports betting kiosks with a Type C license. The Casino Control Commission has received applications from seven companies that want to be sports book proprietors. Their software would process the actual bets and validate winners with a credit voucher that can be redeemed for cash.
Retail advocates, including the National Federation of Independent Business, argued the lottery should spread the risk for bars and restaurants by allowing all of the roughly 10,000 Ohio Lottery retailers cash winning bets – not just the 1,100 who have signaled an interest in hosting kiosks.
In his memo to state lawmakers, Director McDonald said winning sports bets will also be redeemable in person at lottery offices and via mail. Bets might also be payable through “our existing super retailer program and cashing application on our MyLotto Rewards” app.
McDonald also addressed criticism that sports-betting posed a robbery risk for bars and restaurants.
“There is no minimum cash amount required for hosts to have on-hand,” he wrote. “Hosts may choose to limit the value of prizes they are willing to cash.” He also warned about “significant technical and practical challenges” to expanding the cashing options for sports betters, saying the process of verifying the validity of sports betting vouchers could eat away at lottery profits.
“In looking at other states sports betting program, type C sports gaming might only generate a few million dollars per year. This is a fraction of traditional lottery profits. We need to be mindful of these financial realities when being asked to consider additional commissions to non-host locations for cashing winning tickets. Those additional costs would decrease profits and could eliminate them completely,.” McDonald wrote.
But those details don’t matter much to potential sports betters at the Kroger Marketplace store in Oakley, one of 42 Ohio Kroger locations pre-authorized to host sports-betting kiosks.
“For convenience sake it, I think having more places to cash it would be beneficial,” said Alec Korte of Oakley. “I do think it’s going to drive a lot of business and a lot of sales.”
Golf Manor resident Jerry Wolf said he would feel safer cashing a winning bet at Kroger, compared to the bar or restaurant where he placed the bet.
“They got security, pretty much full-time security,” he said. “I think the bigger the bar, the bigger the risk would be.”
