COLUMBUS, Ohio — After garnering bipartisan support in the Ohio General Assembly, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed legislation to legalize sports betting throughout the state.

What You Need To Know

  • Ohio will join a growing list of states to permit sports betting

  • Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill that will permit kiosks at sports gaming facilities, bars and restaurants

  • Advocates say the bill could bring hundreds of millions in economic benefit

  • Gambling revenue has increased to record levels in 2021 in Ohio

DeWine said earlier this year that it would be “inevitable” that sports gambling would become legal in Ohio. 

Ohio law will permit sports gaming online, at sports gaming facilities and through terminals located in bars and restaurants. Terminals are expected to be ready by spring 2023.

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 state will 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.

Gaming in the state has gained popularity since four casinos opened in Ohio in 2012.

Casino and racino gaming had a massive increase in revenue this year. According to data from the Ohio Casino Control Commission, revenue from Ohio’s four main casinos has already broken a yearly record. Through November, Ohio’s four casinos have garnered $899 million in revenue, breaking 2019’s 12-month figure of $850 million. 

Racino revenue has already topped $788 million throughout the state, according to the Ohio Lottery, topping 2019 figures of $700 million.

A 2017 Oxford study estimated that full sports betting in Ohio could create an industry with thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of economic activity, depending on the type of sports gaming permitted. 

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