Ohio Expects Sports Betting Bill before End of Month

Ohio Senate Select Committee on Gaming has started writing a new sports betting bill and expects to introduce it before the end of April.

Ohio Could Have Sports Betting Bill Ready by End of Month

Ohio Senate Select Committee on Gaming has begun writing the new sports betting bill after nine hearings and almost 50 witnesses two weeks ago. The committee expects to introduce the bill before the end of April.

State Senator Kirk Schuring said on March 24 that he expects the bill to be ready sometime in April. Governor Mike DeWine said: “Look, it’s coming to Ohio” when commenting on sports betting. He said that people in Ohio bet online, and now the state has the chance to use some of that money for education.

Cavaliers President Len Komoroski stated that if people are not doing it legally, they are doing it illegally. The committee expects the revenue generated from legalized betting to come between $100 million to $200 million annually. Komoroski said that some believe that number to be even higher. He stated that this sum circulates on the black market, and it doesn’t support small businesses. It can’t be monitored, regulated, nor taxed.

It is estimated that illegal sports betting in Ohio generates around $5 billion a year. A lot of that money goes to the neighboring states where sports wagering is legal.

Ohio Is Surrounded By States with Regulated Sports Betting

Ohio is one of the few states, along with Kentucky, that has yet to legalize sports wagering. Ohio has the surrounding states to learn from when it comes to deciding tax rates, regulations and licenses. Almost all neighboring states offer mobile betting, and DeWine is convinced that dollars are heading towards the state. It is not yet clear which body in the state would regulate sports betting. It could be either the Casino Control Commission, which controls the state’s four casinos, or the Ohio Lottery, which controls seven casinos.

Lawmakers need to decide on the tax rate for sports wagering, and operators could see a lower return compared to table games or slots.

Аccording to Jeff Edelstein, a journalist who covers sports betting for Sportshandle, the taxation in between other states varies a lot. Some states have taxes as low as 12-13%, and others like Pennsylvania go as high as 35%. He said that Ohio could go in a couple of different directions, but if the state wants a successful rollout, it should learn from states like New Jersey and Michigan.

Experts say that Ohio sports betting could be operational a year from now. According to analyst Nick Wojcik from Odds.com, sports betting advice and analysis company, Ohio has the potential to be one of the top sports wagering markets in the US.