Prime Sports Wins Ohio License Under New Owner Plannatech

Ohio regulators have approved a mobile sports betting license for Plannatech, the new owner of Prime Sports, clearing the way for the sharp-focused sportsbook to relaunch in the state. The Ohio Casino Control Commission granted the license at its meeting on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, completing the transfer of Prime's operations that a bankruptcy court sanctioned earlier this year, and putting the brand on course to be live again before the football season starts.

The decision closes a turbulent chapter for a sportsbook that built a loyal following among serious bettors but ran into financial trouble, filing for Chapter 11 in late 2025. With Plannatech now formally licensed by the state, Prime Sports can switch its Ohio operation back on after pausing it during the handover, and it does so as one of the smaller players in a market dominated by DraftKings and FanDuel.

What did the Ohio Casino Control Commission approve?

The commission approved a mobile sports betting license for Plannatech, the technology and operations company that is taking over Prime Sports through a court-approved reorganization. The vote came at the regulator's public meeting on July 15, 2026, and it is the final regulatory clearance Plannatech needed to run the Prime brand in Ohio in its own name rather than as a third-party supplier.

Ohio was the last of Prime's three states to sign off on the new structure. According to Gambling Insider, Kentucky and New Jersey had already approved Plannatech's application before the Ohio hearing, so the July 15 decision effectively completes the operator's transition across its entire footprint.

Who is Plannatech and how is it connected to Prime Sports?

Plannatech is the platform provider that has powered Prime Sports and is now stepping up to become its operator. The company already runs the Betcris brand in Arizona, where it holds market access through a partnership with the San Carlos Apache Tribal Gaming Enterprise, so it is a known quantity to US regulators rather than a first-time applicant.

Because Plannatech supplied the underlying technology for Prime before the bankruptcy, the reorganization keeps the actual product largely intact while changing who sits at the top of the corporate structure. That continuity is part of why the handover has been able to move through three state regulators without a lengthy rebuild.

Why did Prime Sports end up in Chapter 11?

Prime Sports filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in November 2025 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Court estimates put the company's assets at between 1 million and 10 million dollars against liabilities of between 50 million and 100 million dollars, a gap that made a restructuring or sale the only realistic path forward.

Prime always ran a different playbook from the big national books. It courted sharp bettors with high limits and thin margins and deliberately avoided the flood of bonus offers that rivals use to buy market share. That model wins respect among experienced punters, but it leaves little cushion when taxes and costs rise, and it helps explain how a brand with a strong reputation still ended up insolvent.

How big is Prime Sports in Ohio?

Prime is a niche operator by handle, but its Ohio volumes have grown sharply. Gambling Insider reports that Prime took around 4.5 million dollars in wagers in Ohio in December 2023, its first full winter in the market, and more than 22 million dollars in December 2025, which ranked it ninth among the 13 operators active in the state that month.

That places Prime well behind the market leaders but firmly in the middle of the pack, a meaningful position for a book that spends almost nothing on the promotional blitz its rivals rely on. The brand marks its third anniversary in Ohio in September 2026.

Prime Sports Ohio handle at a glance

Metric	Detail	Source
Ohio handle, December 2023	About 4.5 million dollars	Gambling Insider
Ohio handle, December 2025	More than 22 million dollars	Gambling Insider
Ohio market rank, December 2025	9th of 13 operators	Gambling Insider
States of operation	Ohio, Kentucky, New Jersey	SBC Americas
Chapter 11 filing	November 2025, District of Delaware	SBC Americas

What did the regulator say about the deal?

Commissioners framed the approval as a rescue of a legitimate operator rather than a bargain-hunting takeover. Commissioner Scott Borgemenke of the Ohio Casino Control Commission told the hearing that the new owner was not simply extracting value from the business, saying: "You're not just a corporate entity coming in, trying to strip the top off the player."

That tone matters because regulators are cautious about approving operators emerging from bankruptcy, where the risk is that a buyer strips assets or leaves customer balances exposed. The commission's public endorsement signals it is comfortable that Plannatech intends to keep running Prime as a genuine sportsbook.

What has Plannatech's leadership said?

Plannatech chief executive Adam Bjorn presented the takeover as a continuation of a long-held ambition to build regulated markets without heavy-handed restrictions on customers. "My goal, having been in this industry for a very long time, has always been pretty much the same," Bjorn told the commission, tying the Prime relaunch to the operator's history of welcoming bettors that larger books limit or turn away.

Bjorn is a familiar face in the Prime story. He was involved in the brand's original Ohio launch in 2023 in a senior operational role, so the reorganization puts a long-standing member of the Prime orbit in charge rather than an outside acquirer learning the business from scratch.

Who founded Prime Sports?

Prime was built by veterans of the US betting industry, several of whom have since moved on. Co-founder Joe Brennan Jr, a Sports Betting Hall of Famer who played a central role in legalizing sports betting in New Jersey, stepped away from the company in February 2025. Former chief executive Lee Terfloth departed in late 2024 to join Delaware North, and Jon Richards served as chief operating officer through the bankruptcy period.

The founders positioned Prime as a home for players "dissatisfied with the experience" elsewhere, whether because they were being limited or could not find high enough stakes, and pitched it as a way to pull sharp bettors away from offshore and illegal books into the regulated market.

When will Prime Sports relaunch in Ohio?

Prime paused its Ohio operation during the ownership transfer, and the July 15 license clears the way for it to come back online shortly, with the operator targeting a return before the football season. The timing is deliberate: the opening weeks of the NFL and college football calendar are the busiest and most lucrative stretch of the US betting year, and relaunching beforehand lets Prime recapture customers ahead of the rush.

How does Prime fit into the wider Ohio market?

Prime operates in one of the more competitive and heavily taxed US betting states. Ohio doubled its sports betting tax rate to 20 percent of revenue in 2023, a level that squeezes margins for every operator and hits low-margin books like Prime hardest. The state's market is led by the national giants, leaving smaller operators to compete on product and limits rather than marketing spend.

Prime's struggles echo a wider squeeze on mid-tier US sportsbooks, as rising tax rates and the cost of competing with DraftKings and FanDuel push smaller brands toward consolidation or exit. Ohio's experience mirrors what other states are seeing, including the pressure documented in our coverage of Illinois sports betting falling 10 percent as a per-wager tax bites.

What does the approval mean for the US betting market?

The Plannatech deal shows that a distressed but reputable sportsbook can survive through a structured sale rather than simply shutting down. For customers, it means Prime's high-limit, low-bonus proposition stays available in three states. For the industry, it is a reminder that the economics of running a challenger book in high-tax US states remain brutal, and that surviving often means finding an operator willing to absorb the brand rather than growing organically.

It also underlines how much regulatory approval now shapes M&A in US betting. A deal cannot simply close in a boardroom; it has to clear every state commission where the operator holds a license, and Ohio's sign-off was the piece that made Plannatech's plan whole.

Key facts

• The Ohio Casino Control Commission approved a mobile sports betting license for Plannatech on July 15, 2026.
• Plannatech is Prime's platform provider and also runs Betcris in Arizona through the San Carlos Apache Tribal Gaming Enterprise.
• Prime filed for Chapter 11 in November 2025 in Delaware, with assets of 1 million to 10 million dollars and liabilities of 50 million to 100 million dollars.
• A reorganization plan transferring operations to Plannatech was approved on May 21, 2026.
• Prime took more than 22 million dollars in Ohio wagers in December 2025, ranking 9th of 13 operators.
• Kentucky and New Jersey approved Plannatech before Ohio, completing the operator's transition.

Frequently asked questions

What is Prime Sports?

Prime Sports is a US sportsbook known for catering to sharp, high-stakes bettors with high limits and few promotional bonuses. It operates in Ohio, Kentucky and New Jersey and launched in Ohio in September 2023.

Who owns Prime Sports now?

Plannatech, Prime's former platform provider, is taking over the brand through a court-approved reorganization. The Ohio Casino Control Commission licensed Plannatech on July 15, 2026, after Kentucky and New Jersey had already approved it.

Why did Prime Sports file for bankruptcy?

Prime filed for Chapter 11 in November 2025 with liabilities estimated at 50 million to 100 million dollars against assets of 1 million to 10 million dollars. Its low-margin, high-limit model left little cushion against rising taxes and competition.

When will Prime Sports be live again in Ohio?

Prime paused its Ohio operation during the ownership transfer and is expected to relaunch shortly after the July 15 license approval, targeting a return before the 2026 football season.

How big is Prime Sports in Ohio?

Prime took more than 22 million dollars in Ohio wagers in December 2025, ranking ninth among the 13 operators active in the state, up from about 4.5 million dollars two years earlier.

Updated July 2026. Reporting drawn from the Ohio Casino Control Commission decision reported by Gambling Insider and coverage of the Prime Sportsbook bankruptcy and Plannatech deal by SBC Americas.