The ZenSports platform is a powerful solution that enables partners to roll out both a traditional sports betting platform along with a peer-to-peer betting market attached to it, adding diversity to the available options in legalized gambling markets.

Customers are thus able to design their own wagers, set their own odds, and offer them to other punters all connected through ZenSports. The company is hoping that it can provide regulators with sufficient proof that its products meet the necessary standards to be a part of the regulated landscape in the state, and at one point – beyond.

Tennessee Is Just a Start for KeyStar and ZenSports

Commenting on this license submission, KeyStar CEO Mark Thomas said that the state of Tennessee is a perfect first state for the company to launch in, looking to later secure further growth in the United States. Thomas added:

Tennessee has demonstrated significant technological innovation and is one of the fastest-growing states for sports wagering.

KeyStar CEO Mark Thomas

While KeyStar has had some success on global markets, the company is determined to make the United States its next focus of business interest, with the fast-developing market setting new betting records with each passing year.

Being part of this ecosystem would enable KeyStar to strengthen its operational results and position itself for future growth. KeyStar is also looking into the opportunity to further expand in the country already, with the company seeking to secure a license in Nevada in the “near future.”

The Ohio Statehouse News Bureau reported that sports betting has been legal in Ohio for just over a month and the state’s proposed $87 billion, two-year budget has placed the industry in the spotlight. In the spending plan, the tax on sports betting is set to double from 10% to 20%, which will be paid by casinos, sports teams operating sportsbooks, and mobile companies such as DraftKings and Barstool Sportsbook. This tax increase is slightly above the average of 19% imposed by other states.

Additional Revenue Will Go to Schools, Problem Gambling, and Sports Betting Regulation

The revenue generated from the proposed increase in taxes on sports betting in Ohio will go towards funding athletics and extracurricular activities in schools, addressing problem gambling, and covering administrative costs associated with regulating sports betting. This also involves monitoring advertisements by sports gambling apps to ensure compliance with state law.

Companies such as DraftKings, Penn Sports Interactive, and Bet MGM have already faced penalties of hundreds of thousands of dollars for violating state law through advertisements that promote risk-free betting or free bonuses or target individuals who are too young to participate in gambling. 

For example, at the beginning of January, the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) took action against sports betting operators BetMGM Sportsbook, Caesars Sportsbook, and DraftKings Sportsbook, for violating advertising rules. The issue was the absence of any message regarding problem gambling in their advertising, as well as promoting their products as being free and without risk.

According to Matt Schuler, the Executive Director of the OCCC, the administrative action was a response to the blatant disregard shown by the sports betting operators for the state’s sports betting laws, despite multiple reminders and notifications regarding the advertising and promotion regulations.

Gov. Mike DeWine Has Taken a Hard Stance on Sports Betting Advertising Rules

Gov. Mike DeWine took a strong stance on the sports betting industry in Ohio, keeping a watchful eye on the advertisements and messages put forth by the operators. He signed the bill to legalize sports gambling in the state in December 2021 and since the market’s official launch on January 1, 2023, he has been monitoring the actions of the operators closely.

DeWine has expressed his concerns over the “massive advertising” done by the sports betting companies and made it clear that any misleading or inappropriate statements made by the operators will not be tolerated in Ohio.

When he made his statement back at the beginning of January, the governor did not go into detail about specific instances of operators crossing the line, but did mention the OCCC’s case against one operator who illegally advertised to minors.

The unnamed individual said that he was very happy to hit a jackpot but confirmed that he had no intentions of keeping the money. Instead, he wanted to donate his winnings. The person, who is from Greenville, bought his winning ticket at the GT Express Mart.

His win came during the January 16 drawing and the case was finally confirmed by the South Carolina Education Lottery last week. The winner has insisted that his name is not revealed. As to how he managed to win the $150,000, he said that he had picked four white numbers and 3 as his Powerball number.

Winning Enough, Time to Make Someone Else Happy

He would have won just $50,000 had it not been for the Powerball number, which tripled his winnings to $150,000. “I hit enough to make someone happy,” the anonymous donor said as part of the lottery’s press release. He defied some pretty long odds as well, managing to win when the odds of that happening were 1 in 913,129.

GT Express Mart is also going to get a small cut, with $1,500 paid to it for selling the winning ticket. Lottery jackpots have been dropping around the United States, too. The Powerball fifth largest win fell last Monday, making one lucky ticket owner very happy indeed with the jackpot prize standing at $754.6 million.

The Powerball reminded players that there are more tickets and rewards to be claimed and urged participants to always keep their tickets with them until after they have checked whether they have won something other than the big jackpot. There are millions worth of secondary prizes that go to millions of tickets after every draw, that is unless the tickets have been lost as is often the case.