COLUMBUS, Ohio — With sports betting legal in Ohio, some lawmakers are looking to expand legal online gaming beyond sports. A commission that is evaluating the future of gaming in Ohio is considering the benefits of igaming, which gives gamblers the easy access to gaming.
What You Need To Know
- Lawmakers are looking at the sports betting industry in a new Study Commission on the Future of Gaming in Ohio
- Right now, igaming is legal in eight other states, including Michigan
- The study commission at the statehouse will have its next meeting in March
During the first year that sports betting was legal in Ohio, the industry generated nearly $1 billion dollars of taxable revenue. Now, state lawmakers and leaders are discussing the idea of legal igaming. Igaming stands for interactive gaming. It allows gamblers to place their bets online.
“Think of igaming as an extension of a casino,” said Jim Kahler, Director of the Sport and Entertainment Management program at Cleveland State University. “Where you go to a casino, you can pull down a slot machine and then play the slots, or play blackjack. So, it is basically the casino industry coming along.”
This form of betting is currently legal in eight other states. Now, a commission at the Ohio Statehouse is considering whether Ohio should join that list. And, Kahler says it could be a positive for the Buckeye State’s economy.
“If our lawmakers are looking for a new revenue stream, igaming is going to be it,” said Kahler.
Aside from the hundreds of millions of dollars of tax revenue the practice could bring in, proponents say legalizing this form of betting would help get rid of the illegal igaming market that already exists. Meanwhile, Kahler says it is important that lawmakers discuss how the tax dollars are used, including considerations for funding help for problem gambling.
“So it’s a very small percentage that’s going back to fight addiction, but that small percentage is still a lot of money and more money than those groups had ever before,” said Kahler.
“As we look at the call volume to the Ohio Problem Gambling helpline in 2023, that was up 55% over the previous year,” said Derek Longmeier, Executive Director of the Problem Gambling Network of Ohio.
Longmeier said he is worried about the state considering legal igaming as a possibility in the near future. He says it could contribute to gambling addiction numbers rising.
“The more there are opportunities to gamble, the more Ohioans will gamble and more Ohioans will develop problems,” said Longmeier. “We saw that with casinos and racinos. We saw that with ebingo and now with sports betting. And, we would anticipate with igaming that there would be further expansion and further problems as a result.”
The study commission at the statehouse is expected to meet again in March and issue recommendations by the end of June.