A plan to bring a new restaurant and sports betting to the Covelli Centre, which was announced nearly two years ago, is now on hold.

In May 2023, the owners of the Phantoms hockey team and Phantom Fireworks told 21 News that after purchasing sports betting licenses when they were first made available in Ohio, they were looking to add a full-service brand-name restaurant along with outside seating, two news bars inside the Coveilli Centre, and an area dedicated to sports book betting. 

However, sports betting kiosks in the state failed to take off as expected.

After its first year, the Ohio Lottery, the state's governing body of gambling kiosks, found that the lottery revenue share took in $303,589 in kiosk funds yet cost $650,000 to operate annually, 10 WBNS in Columbus reported.

With sports gambling available via phone apps, the need for kiosks diminished, even though more than 1,500 licenses were sold to businesses.

Phantom Fireworks' vice president, Alex Zoldan, told 21 News that the plan is on hold while they continue studying the sports betting market. 

Zoldan said they are holding onto the gaming license while exploring options at the facility and still believe that a downtown restaurant at the Covelli Centre would be good for the city.

According to the Ohio Lottery Commission, there are 911 kiosk locations in the state, down from 940 locations in March of 2023.