COLUMBUS, Ohio — A group of Ohio senators has unveiled a bill to legalize sports gambling. Their proposal would allow for groups or entities to apply for two different licenses.
What You Need To Know
- A bill has been unveiled to legalize sports betting in Ohio
- The bill addresses sports betting, eBingo and iLottery
- Lawmakers hope to have it passed by the end of June
“Gaming is here, today, in Ohio and all we want to do is put guardrails around it to make sure it’s done correctly,” said Sen. Kirk Schuring, R-Canton.
On Thursday, Schuring released a comprehensive plan to expand gaming in Ohio. The bill addresses three main issues: sports betting, eBingo and iLottery.
“This bill is about the free market,” Schuring said. “Everybody’s going to have to participate and be a part of the process. There’s not going to be any prescriptive language in the legislation that’s going to give somebody special preference.”
Schuring, who chairs the Ohio Senate Select Committee on Gaming, which had nine hearings between February and March, said the Ohio Casino Control Commission would have regulatory authority and not the Ohio Lottery Commission.
“I would never give an odds-making risk to the Ohio Lottery for fear that if they couldn’t bank the bet, the bank of last resort is the people of Ohio,” said Schuring.
The bill creates two types of licenses.
Type A would go to facilities that can “bank the bet” like the 11 casinos and racinos currently in Ohio. Type A licensees could also contract an online site like FanDuel or DraftKings.
“If there’s another entity out there right now, notwithstanding those 11 that we’re talking about, who can come up with the money that can bank the bet, come to Ohio,” said Schuring.
The other license, Type B, would be for brick and mortar sportsbooks where gamblers can make prop bets. Ohio’s pro sports teams could apply for a Type B license, but would not be guaranteed one according to Schuring. He said 20 of each license would be available and will cost $1 million over a three-year period.
Schuring said there will also be a 10% tax on any bet.
“It’s not about revenue generation,” Schuring said. “The revenue generated will go to education, both private and public, and also gambling sports addiction — gambling addiction in general.”
The Inter-University Council of Ohio asked lawmakers to not include college sports in the bill, but that issue will be up to the casino control commission, according to the proposal.
The legislation also addresses eBingo and iLottery. eBingo would be operational at veteran’s and fraternal organizations overseen by the Ohio attorney general’s office. iLottery would be studied by a committee.
The Fair Gaming Coalition of Ohio, who wanted the lottery commission in control of sports betting, said it, “will reserve comment on today’s sports betting announcement until its members have seen the bill and had time to analyze it.”
Lawmakers said they would like to pass the bill by the end of June.
