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Steve Bittenbender of Casino.org reporting Wednesday morning live from the hearing of Ohio Casino Control Commission to determine suitable sports betting licensees in the state of Ohio. Right out of the gate, new horse racing betting site PlayUp has apparently been denied a license to operate in the Buckeye State. The reason: The OCCC "discovered potential illegal activity", according to Bittenbender.
In addition they ordered a cease and desist against the company.
BREAKING - OCCC issues a cease & desist order against PlayUp after it discovered potential illegal activity
— Steve Bittenbender (@CasinoOrgSteveB) December 14, 2022
PlayUp has been denied a license and is appealing the ruling.
Commission is also fining Penn Interactive $250K for advertising violations
Sports betting is scheduled to go live in Ohio on January 1. Venues across multiple spectrums will offer the activity including bars, bowling alleys, convenience stores and even Kroger's Supermarket chain.
Bittenbender also reports the state has processed $30M in licensing fees over the past month.
It's not immediately known as to why the action was taken. We reached out to someone from PlayUp for comment and they are working on getting us more details so stay tuned.
PlayUp has already obtained a license in New Jersey (so can't be that bad, can it?) as well as Colorado. The company is looking to upend the online horse racing industry, for the better part of a decade dominated by the likes of TwinSpires, TVG and NYRABets, and not much more.
In other news, the Commission is fining Penn Interactive $250K for advertising violations, which should make other sports betting companies cringe (did someone say PointsBet?).
Penn Interactive is also under scrutiny in Massachusetts where commissioners have questioned its association with the controversial founder and outspoken personality behind its recently acquired Barstool Sports.
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com
