Ohio Sports Betting Still Under Debate in the State Legislature

Ohio sports betting is in the news once again. The Ohio state Senate has called for a conference committee in order to settle differences that have come up with regards to their sports betting package. However, the differences that are being referenced are not explicitly clear at this point.

The Ohio state Senate has produced its sports betting proposal after months of work. But, the Ohio state House has yet to offer their own comparable legislation this year.

SB 176, the Ohio Senate’s original sports betting bill, is actually not the bill that will be up for committee. The bill that will be up is HB 29, which is a bill that was originally about veteran ID cards. However, the state Senate tried to amend the bill with an amended proposal that would legalize Ohio sports betting.

So, the Senate appears to be fed up with waiting for the House to act on betting. Interestingly, the Ohio state House refused to accept these amendments back in June. At that time, the state Senate insisted upon keeping those amendments, and that push continues to this day.

There is still time this year for Ohio sports betting to be legalized. The Ohio legislature is able to run through the end of the year, December 31st, if it is required to.

Back in June, the discussion around Ohio sports betting was gaining traction. However, the Ohio legislature’s summer break and other states’ sports betting momentum overtook the conversation.

The Ohio State Senate hopes to offer 25 online licenses. There would be an option to have more skins than twenty-five. Professional sports leagues and professional sports teams would be able to launch only one skin, while others, for instance casino operators, would be able to launch two.

When it comes to retail sportsbook licenses, there would be up to 40 available, which differs from the number that was in the original proposal. SB 176 was changed to offer preferential treatment when it came to licensing to sports teams and sports leagues. However, this made another issue pop up:

Because the retail sportsbook licenses would have population limitations, this would have left four casinos without their own retail sportsbooks. The amended HB 29 addressed this issue.

A third license type for liquor-licensed establishments would be available to 20 establishments, giving them the ability to host sports betting kiosks. Sports betting revenue is set to be taxed at a rate of 10% in the bill, across the board, no matter how the bet has been placed.

Licenses would not be issued for sports betting according to the bill until April 1st, 2022.

Ohio’s neighboring states are hoping the state is in no hurry to legalize sports betting. Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia already have poached sports bettors from Ohio for their own revenue benefits.

Neighboring states are benefitting from Ohio sports betting fans placing bets on the NFL season in their respective states with legal betting packages. Competing states are most likely hoping to keep these bettors for March Madness betting action too. If Ohio does not move fast to legalize sports betting, they could miss out on all of the NFL betting action for this football season.

Written by Allie Nelson, our US Sports Betting Industry Expert. You can learn more about our author's expertise here.