A group of lawmakers are looking to vastly alter the Ohio sports betting market, including a proposal to take it offline.
Ohio Reps. Gary Click, Johnathan Newman and Riordan McClain spoke at a press conference Wednesday to introduce their “Save Ohio Sports Act.” The act overhauls the Ohio sports betting law and places strict guardrails on the industry.
“The addictive nature of gambling combined with the modern technology that we have in our pockets today includes 24/7 access and unlimited options to place bets has become a problem for many,” McClain said.
The changes come as Gov. Mike DeWine has been vocal about his regret in legalizing sports betting. Lawmakers have also rejected attempts to legalize online casinos in the Buckeye State.
Ohio sports betting overhaul
There is no bill language available yet, but one of the groups speaking at Wednesday’s press conference outlined multiple proposed changes:
- No online sports betting.
- No prop, in-game, college or prop bets.
- Restricting individuals to a maximum $100 bet and eight bets within 24 hours.
- Prohibits credit card funding of accounts.
- No free bet or risk free bet offers from sports books.
- No sports betting ads during sports broadcasts.
Ohio already launched the market in 2023 with strict advertising rules, including prohibiting the use of “free bets” or “risk free.” Regulators fined multiple sportsbooks during the early days for their national ads using the language.
Click: Health risk not worth the taxes
Click, who noted that he and McClain voted against sports betting when it was legalized in 2021 because of their concerns over the addictive nature, said the benefits of the industry do not outweigh the negatives for him.
“Is it really worth the taxes that we gain to risk people’s lives, their mental health, their personal well-being, their families, their homes,” Click asked. “I don’t think it is.”
Losing that tax money could be a hard sell for other legislators. Sports betting operators paid more than $500 million in taxes over the state’s first three years of legal sports betting.
A similar attempt to restrict betting was pulled in Louisiana by the sponsor once she saw the fiscal note detailing the lost tax revenue if prop bets were banned.
Changing Ohio sports betting
Ohio has been a turbulent market for sports betting changes. When the law was established, lawmakers instituted a 10% sports betting tax. Since then, DeWine doubled it in his 2023 budget, which was approved by lawmakers, to 20%.
DeWine attempted to double it again to 40% in 2025, but lawmakers rejected that change. DeWine has also since said he regrets legalizing sports betting.
“People have asked me, ‘What mistakes did you make?’ And I’ll lead with signing a bill for sports gaming,” DeWine said earlier this year. “It’s a huge problem among young males up to 45,” he added. “It’s a huge problem. And we have many of them addicted, many of them spending money that they do not have.”
He also has called for a ban on prop bets.
Sen. Louis Blessing attempted to add a 2% tax on sports betting handle.
