COLUMBUS, Ohio — Amid a busy day for the Ohio General Assembly, both the House and Senate approved House Bill 29, which would legalize sports betting throughout the state. 

What You Need To Know

  • A bill that would permit widespread sports gambling was approved by the Ohio House and Senate

  • The legislation awaits Gov. Mike DeWine’s signature

  • The legislation would allow gambling on professional and collegiate sporting events

  • The bill would allow for restaurants and bars to have sports betting kiosks, in addition to online and gaming facilities

The bill now heads to Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk, who said earlier this year that it would be “inevitable” that sports gambling would become legal in Ohio. 

"Obviously, there were a lot of changes that came out of conference committee. Too early to comment definitively,” a spokesperson for DeWine told Spectrum News on Wednesday. 

The bill, if signed by DeWine, would offer sports gaming online, at sports gaming facilities and through terminals located in bars and restaurants. 

The bill would allow betting on any professional or collegiate sport, any Olympic or international sports competition event, any motor race, any horse race or any other special event the Ohio Casino Control Commission authorizes. The law would generally prohibit betting on high school sports.

The bill would also prohibit those involved in the sporting event from placing a wager. 

“We finally came to a compromise where no one has an advantage,” said bill co-sponsor Adam Miller, D-Columbus. “The casino and racino have their opportunity, the teams and the league are going to have their opportunity, the bars and restaurants are going to have their opportunity. And it’s going to benefit education and veterans groups in a really substantial way.”

Thirty-two states have legalized sports betting, according to the American Gaming Association.

Spectrum News 1 reporters Olivia Wile and Josh Rultenberg contributed to this report.

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