The gambling industry in Ohio has progressed rather slowly over the years. The Buckeye State legalized gambling in 2012 and since then four casinos and seven racinos have come up in the state. There is no sports betting available in the state and legislators are keen on tapping into this lucrative betting market.
Ohio lawmakers are now pushing for online and retail sports bets to prevent local punters from having to travel to other states to gamble. Four of the five states around Ohio have launched legal sports bets. Kentucky, the only exception, is reportedly considering legalizing sports betting soon.
The four casinos in Ohio are the Hollywood Casino Toledo, the JACK Casino Cleveland, the Hollywood Casino Columbus and the Jack Casino in Cincinnati. The four racinos are the Belterra Park Cincinnati, Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Downs, Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway, Miami Valley Gaming, MGM Northfield Park, Scioto Downs and JACK Thistledown Racino.
Center for Addiction Treatment
Players frequent these places to enjoy an assortment of slot machines, table games and poker rooms. Racinos offer video lottery terminals and horse racing bets, but no table games are allowed on their premises.
In Ohio, bets on horse racing are allowed, but sports bets remain illegal. This is expected to change soon with the sports betting bills being considered by both the Ohio House and Senate.
H194, which is sponsored by Rep. Dave Greenspan, names the Ohio Lottery as the gambling regulator for Ohio. Due to this, sports betting under H194 will focus on enacting sports betting via the roughly 2,500 lottery betting kiosks located in casinos and fraternal halls, among other places. H194 passed the House in May 2020 with a strong majority.
S111, sponsored by Sen. John Eklund, names the Ohio Casino Control Commission as the state’s gambling regulator. Under this bill, the 11 casinos and racinos in Ohio will serve as the main hubs for sports betting.
While no definite word has been released on which bill will gain precedence over the other, industry sources indicated that Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is in favor of the casino-driven model offered by S111.
H194 is now headed to the State Senate for further discussions. Key Ohio gambling advocate Sen. William Conley has stated on record that he prefers H194 over S111.
About The Author
