CINCINNATI — Super Bowl weekend could be one of the biggest weekends for sports betting so far in Ohio.
Sports betting has only been legal in Ohio since Jan. 1, but owners at some bars and restaurants with betting kiosks say the rollout hasn’t come without challenges.
“We've only had it for about a week and a half,” said Tome Jolevski, a kitchen manager at Patrick’s Sports Bar & Grill in Westwood.
Jolevski said there was a delay getting the betting up at the bar.
“Just so many bars wanted it and it just took a while for them to get it all to all the places,” he said. “And it took a little while for them to upgrade the software.”
The company that hosts the betting on the bar’s kiosk delayed its software rollout. The delay impacted several other Tri-State businesses too.
“We missed out, totally missed out,” said Jimmy Cox, Owner of The Main Entrance in Delhi Township. “It's supposed to be ready January 1. We probably didn't get it till maybe two weeks ago.”
Cox said his kiosk hasn’t taken in more than $100 since then. He believes the delay pushed more people to bet on their phones through apps.
“There's multiple ones out there and plus they're offering free bets,” he said. “They can do it at home. They can do it in a car. They can do it eating breakfast, drinking a cup of coffee, practically do it in their sleep.”
Cox think it’s a learning curve. He believes bets at the kiosk will pick up.
“I think we all hope and our expectations is that this is another way of producing income for our businesses that are already struggling,” he said.
At Patrick’s, Jolevski hopes that as app-based incentives slow down, kiosk bets will trickle in.
“I hope it brings some new customers in,” he said.
Jolevski said that even though it’s been a short time, customer feedback has been positive.
“Just that little extra income where you don't really have to do much with it,” he said.
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