CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds and BetMGM are planning to relocate their retail sportsbook from the Machine Room at Great American Ball Park to the former Galla Park night club space at the Banks, sources told the WCPO 9 I-Team.
Moving the sportsbook to the corner of Second Street and Joe Knuxhall Way would boost foot traffic for what is now Ohio’s worst-performing retail sportsbook, based on state revenue data. It would also close a location that exposed a college baseball betting scandal in April.
The Reds declined to comment on the move. Real estate sources say the team bought a leasehold interest from Galla Park’s operators before the night club abruptly closed in February.
The team told state lawmakers in 2021 that it wanted a sportsbook at the Banks.
“Our vision would be, assuming we have access to the Type A license, we would partner with a sports book operator who would set up some form of a retail location situated down there on the Banks,” Chief Financial Officer Doug Healy told an Ohio Senate panel in May 2021. “A retail presence on that riverfront could be an economic driver that helps generate foot traffic, which further supports these businesses and these restaurants as they continue to recover from the economic devastation of COVID-19.”
As the January 1 launch date approached for Ohio’s sports betting market last October, BetMGM announced that it would partner with the Reds on a sportsbook accessible from the stadium plaza. That location complied with the rules of Major League Baseball, which prevent betting locations inside ticketed areas of stadiums.
Its location on the northeast corner of Great American Ball Park is the only retail sportsbook in Ohio that failed to generate revenue for its operators , according revenue reports from the Ohio Casino Control Commission. Bettors placed $604,290 in wagers at the BetMGM location, second to last among 14 retail sportsbooks. BetMGM paid $608,158 in winnings and voided $4,157 in wagers from January to April, resulting in a net loss of $8,025.
It's the only retail sportsbook in Ohio that lost money for its operators. The only location that came close to that was FC Cincinnati’s sportsbook, operated by Superbook at Taft’s Ale House. It generated $1,718 in taxable gaming receipts on $50,520 in bets. By contrast, Ohio’s best performing retail sports book, Hard Rock Cincinnati Casino, generated $1.6 million in taxable gaming receipts on $13 million in total bets.
The BetMGM property won the praise of Ohio’s top casino regulator in April, when it alerted gaming authorities to a college baseball betting scandal that cost three coaches their jobs.
“There was suspicious activity and behavior that the BetMGM staff noted and that triggered a notices from BetMGM to both U.S. Integrity and to the commission. That’s how it started,” said Matt Schuler, executive director of the Ohio Casino Control Commission. “Using the tools available, BetMGM gave us substantial information that was credible enough for the commission to very quickly decide to cease all betting activity on Alabama baseball.”
Schuler would not confirm published reports that the father of a University of Cincinnati baseball player triggered the alert by communicating with Alabama Coach Brad Bohannon as he placed a bet on the Alabama-LSU game. Bohannon was fired three days after the suspicious betting activity. Two UC baseball coaches were fired a few weeks after that. UC said it was investigating potential NCAA violations.
Schuler said the case was a win for regulators and he credited BetMGM for making it happen.
“Everybody involved did the right thing,” Schuler said. “Everybody involved did exactly what they were trained to do and they did it thoroughly and they did it promptly.”
Schuler said UC is not being investigated by the commission, but its probe into the betting irregularities continues. Schuler declined to offer a timeline on that investigation. He said criminal or civil actions could emerge from the case.
Ohio’s sports betting law allows the commission to ban bettors “whose participation in the play or operation of sports gaming in this state is determined by the commission to pose a threat to the interests of the state … or to the strict and effective regulation of sports gaming.”
The law also allows criminal charges to be filed against anyone who “places a bet or aids any other person in placing a bet on a sporting event after unlawfully acquiring knowledge of the outcome on which winnings from that bet are contingent.” A first violation of that statute is a misdemeanor. Subsequent violations are fifth-degree felonies.
MAP: New location for Reds sportsbook
