An online casino bill appears to be on the way in Ohio.
Rep. Brian Stewart has confirmed with WOSU Public Media that he is working on an Ohio online casino bill.
The legislation would help raise revenue for the Buckeye State after lawmakers stripped tax hikes out of Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposed two-year budget. Stewart is the sponsor of the House version of the budget as chair of the House Finance Committee.
Online casino considerations
Last year, the Study Commission on the Future of Gaming in Ohio turned in a report, including multiple lawmakers recommending online casino legalization.
“While the state should proceed with caution and care with any expansion of this magnitude, with the right regulatory framework, these types of gaming can thrive with nominal impact to our current system,” Reps. Jay Edwards, Jeff LaRe and Cindy Abrams wrote in the report.
Three House Republicans on the commission said online casino legalization “could be a net benefit” to the state. A Democratic lawmaker said it was likely inevitable and provided framework suggestions.
Several other lawmakers, however, did express concerns about expanding the gambling industry. Of note were worries about the effect an online expansion could have on the existing industry and lottery.
Second attempt in a year
Former Ohio Sen. Niraj Antani, who helped spark sports betting legalization, introduced an online casino bill last fall, in hopes of “kickstarting the process.” He told LSR at the time that the sports betting process took more than three years and more than 30 bill iterations.
Antani’s bill would have tethered the licenses to the state’s 11 casinos. The report last year suggested tying the licenses to the casinos.
Antani knew the bill was unlikely to move but wanted to familiarize lawmakers with the issue.
Ohio tax hikes cut
Earlier this year, DeWine unveiled his budget proposal, which included multiple tax hikes. He included doubling the sports betting tax to 40% from 20%.
DeWine previously doubled the sports betting tax to 20% from 10% in 2023.
Through the budget process, however, legislators took out the tax hikes, including for sports betting.
