SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Genius Sports has taken another step in its roadmap for US expansion, securing a Sports Gaming Supplier License in the state of Ohio this week.
Issued to the London-based company by the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC), the licence enables Genius to offer its sportstech and data services to operators active in the state once the regulated betting market goes live on 1 January 2023.
Genius now holds 39 licences across North America, covering US states, Canadian provinces, and additional territories as well as Native American tribal areas, providing products such as odds, streams and live data.
Mark Locke, CEO of Genius Sports, said: “We are honoured that the state of Ohio has awarded Genius Sports its sports gaming supplier licence to provide licensed sportsbooks across the Buckeye State with access to our groundbreaking NFL products and marketing services.
“As a growing majority of US states legalise sports betting, Genius Sports welcomes the opportunity to work with states like Ohio, on providing sports fans with official sports data-driven solutions to power their sportsbooks.”
Founded in 2016 in London, Genius has been quick to capitalise on the burgeoning sports betting scene in the US, especially following the repeal of PASPA back in 2018.
This has included partnerships with popular sports tournaments and organisations such as the NFL and NASCAR, which see the company collect and distribute data from said competitions to licensed sports betting operators.
In pursuit of a stronger US standing, in 2021 the firm secured a listing on the NYSE. Although building up some heavy losses that year, Genius has chipped away at this, revealing a 90% reduction in its latest trading update.
The most recent US sports betting development for the company was an extension of its partnership with the NFL to cover live streams of fixtures to its syndicated sportsbook partners.
