How has Buckeye State come to the stage of sports betting development it is today where legality is concerned? Starting with lottery prohibition in the 18th century, which changed in the 1970s with the launch of the state lottery, remaining the only legal betting form for the following 30 years. In 2009, land-based casinos became legal and were taxed with 33% of their revenue. A paramount moment in the state betting industry was the establishment of the Ohio Casino Control Commission in 2011.
In 2018, daily fantasy sports were allowed next. After a few unsuccessful attempts to make sports betting legal, in 2021, this became a reality, so operators could apply for licenses, and the Ohio state could generate a decent betting handle. Let’s explore the most critical moments in Ohio State’s sports betting history in more detail.
18th Century lotteries are prohibited
Ohio state’s first gambling laws took effect in the 18th century with the ban on lotteries. Private organizations were set up to enforce fines against illegal gambling. For the following decades, the gambling laws remained unchanged.
1933 Legal pari-mutuel horse racing
In 1933, the state introduced a bill that legalized pari-mutuel betting on horse races. Later in the century, the Ohio State Racing Commission was set up.
1970s The Ohio state lottery flourishes
Like many other US states, Ohio launched its own state lottery in the 1970s. Since then, the lotteries have taken place, generating lots of money for Buckeye State. That helped with budgetary constraints by financial shortfalls, funding in public services, and economic pressure. The lottery remained the only type of gambling available in the state for the next 30 years.
2009 – Legalizing land-based casinos
In the past, when Ohioans wanted to play casino games, they had to cross state lines and use the services of the nearby legal casino and betting markets. That changed in 2009 thanks to a pivotal constitutional amendment. Four brick-and-mortar casinos opened doors in Ohio’s most populous cities. After unsuccessful attempts to introduce casino gambling, the 2009 amendment got 52% of voters’ approval, enough to pass it.
The new gambling regulations
The recently signed law made casino gambling in OH legal, setting up the basic rules for the activity. The gambling age in the state was set to 21+ years. The amendment imposed a 33% tax rate on casino revenue at land-based venues and 33.5% for racino locations, which generated profits for Ohio and its residents.
The Ohio Casino Control Commission was set up in 2011
Once gaming was legalized, Ohio State needed to regulate games of chance. With the passage of the Casino Control Law (Revised Code Section 3772) in 2011, the state’s auditioning body for gambling, called the Ohio Casino Control Commission, was founded. Its duties included licensing, regulating, jurisdiction, and investigating all entities involved with any casino gaming. Every operator had to pay $50 million per casino and invest $250 million to develop a facility so that it could get a local license to permit its lawful operation.
The Casino Control Commission‘s gaming agents are certified police officers with full authority to arrest individuals on Ohio’s casino properties and non-casino locations if the arrest is within the criminal section of Ohio’s gambling laws.
After the opening of the eleven Ohio gambling venues, the laws have still been relatively stable. That did not change until the overturning of PAPSA by the Supreme Court in 2018, which ensured better chances for legalizing sports gambling in Ohio.
Daily fantasy sports lawful – 2018
DFS was allowed in 2018 in Ohio. The law set a $10,000 annual fee for licensing and no tax on fantasy sports platforms. Thanks to the legal clarification, big DFS websites such as Yahoo, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fantasy Draft now work in the state. The Ohio Casino Control Commission oversees these activities.
Bill 111 – Unsuccessful Attempt for legalizing sports betting
Ohio Senate Bill 111 (SB 111), a legislation aimed at licensing and taxing sports wagering in the state, was introduced during the 133rd General Assembly. It aimed to establish a lawful framework for sports betting works, getting its most important supporter in the face of Gov. Mike DeWine. The House Finance Committee held eight hearings but concluded without giving the bill an official league data mandate. After many delays, in 2010, the House Finance Committee passed an Ohio sports betting bill on its ninth hearing, a day before its summer recess. Unfortunately, it did not survive after the 2020 legislative session.
December 22nd, 2021 – HB 29 finally legalizes sports betting
The attempts to regulate sports betting did not end there. In May 2021, Sen. Kirk Schuring introduced his sports betting bill, SB 176. Soon, he realized that the chance of its hearing in the House before the summer 2021 recess was meager. That’s why he integrated the most important parts of the original bill into HB 29, making it more likely to advance.
After several months of debating, HB 29 passed through the House and Senate with a few amendments that allowed sports betting. The bill’s details were altered from Schuring’s original plan. Still, the fundamental structure of SB 176 was kept intact and signed by DeWine in late December 2021.
2023 Gambling operators apply for sports betting licenses in Ohio state
After DeWine signed the bill, the Ohio Casino Control Commission spent the first half of 2022 preparing the rules for managing sports wagering. On June 1st, the commission confirmed that sports betting is planned for launch on New Year’s Day 2023. Two weeks later, the OCCC started receiving license applications, with the first companies being BetMGM and PointsBet, as well as many other OH sports betting sites interested in quickly joining them. The Cincinnati Bengals were the first Ohio sports franchise to apply for a license in July 2022.
Impressive sports betting handle for 2023
In 2023, on New Year’s Day, legal online sports betting was officially started in OH state. The handle for the first month of its operation was an astonishing $1.11 billion in January, of which $1.09 billion was made only through online sports bets. Ohio’s revenue was $208.9 million, marking a single-month record for any state.
By the end of 2023, Ohio’s total sports betting handle reached around $10 billion, which made it one of the fastest-developing states that have achieved such a milestone after the post-PASPA era. Shortly after the new legislation, lawmakers took advantage of the situation by increasing the tax on sports betting platforms from 10% to 20% of the revenue.
Ohio’s sports betting landscape in 2024: growth and challenges
In 2024, during its first entire year of legal sports gambling since its launch in 2023, Ohio became the sixth largest market in the USA by total betting handle. According to GeoComply, Paycor Stadium led all NFL venues in in-stadium online sports betting, averaging 67,000 transactions per game for the 2023-24 season. But, early in the year, the legislators of Buckeye State prohibited all college player prop bets. At the same time, the fast-growing sweepstakes casinos also offer sports betting, and in some states, these platforms are more popular than some of the best online casino sites.
Bloomberg informs that MGM considered selling Northfield Park. The Northfield racino has a 2,200-square-foot sportsbook. Buckeye State’s sports betting handle in 2024 has remained robust, with March 2024 alone documented at $809 million, marking the overall increase in betting activity. The industry develops steadily and shows unwavering interest, making the future look bright.
How has Buckeye State come to the stage of sports betting development it is today where legality is concerned? Starting with lottery prohibition in the 18th century, which changed in the 1970s with the launch of the state lottery, remaining the only legal betting form for the following 30 years. In 2009, land-based casinos became legal and were taxed with 33% of their revenue. A paramount moment in the state betting industry was the establishment of the Ohio Casino Control Commission in 2011.
In 2018, daily fantasy sports were allowed next. After a few unsuccessful attempts to make sports betting legal, in 2021, this became a reality, so operators could apply for licenses, and the Ohio state could generate a decent betting handle. Let’s explore the most critical moments in Ohio State’s sports betting history in more detail.
18th Century lotteries are prohibited
Ohio state’s first gambling laws took effect in the 18th century with the ban on lotteries. Private organizations were set up to enforce fines against illegal gambling. For the following decades, the gambling laws remained unchanged.
1933 Legal pari-mutuel horse racing
In 1933, the state introduced a bill that legalized pari-mutuel betting on horse races. Later in the century, the Ohio State Racing Commission was set up.
1970s The Ohio state lottery flourishes
Like many other US states, Ohio launched its own state lottery in the 1970s. Since then, the lotteries have taken place, generating lots of money for Buckeye State. That helped with budgetary constraints by financial shortfalls, funding in public services, and economic pressure. The lottery remained the only type of gambling available in the state for the next 30 years.
2009 – Legalizing land-based casinos
In the past, when Ohioans wanted to play casino games, they had to cross state lines and use the services of the nearby legal casino and betting markets. That changed in 2009 thanks to a pivotal constitutional amendment. Four brick-and-mortar casinos opened doors in Ohio’s most populous cities. After unsuccessful attempts to introduce casino gambling, the 2009 amendment got 52% of voters’ approval, enough to pass it.
The new gambling regulations
The recently signed law made casino gambling in OH legal, setting up the basic rules for the activity. The gambling age in the state was set to 21+ years. The amendment imposed a 33% tax rate on casino revenue at land-based venues and 33.5% for racino locations, which generated profits for Ohio and its residents.
The Ohio Casino Control Commission was set up in 2011
Once gaming was legalized, Ohio State needed to regulate games of chance. With the passage of the Casino Control Law (Revised Code Section 3772) in 2011, the state’s auditioning body for gambling, called the Ohio Casino Control Commission, was founded. Its duties included licensing, regulating, jurisdiction, and investigating all entities involved with any casino gaming. Every operator had to pay $50 million per casino and invest $250 million to develop a facility so that it could get a local license to permit its lawful operation.
The Casino Control Commission‘s gaming agents are certified police officers with full authority to arrest individuals on Ohio’s casino properties and non-casino locations if the arrest is within the criminal section of Ohio’s gambling laws.
After the opening of the eleven Ohio gambling venues, the laws have still been relatively stable. That did not change until the overturning of PAPSA by the Supreme Court in 2018, which ensured better chances for legalizing sports gambling in Ohio.
Daily fantasy sports lawful – 2018
DFS was allowed in 2018 in Ohio. The law set a $10,000 annual fee for licensing and no tax on fantasy sports platforms. Thanks to the legal clarification, big DFS websites such as Yahoo, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fantasy Draft now work in the state. The Ohio Casino Control Commission oversees these activities.
Bill 111 – Unsuccessful Attempt for legalizing sports betting
Ohio Senate Bill 111 (SB 111), a legislation aimed at licensing and taxing sports wagering in the state, was introduced during the 133rd General Assembly. It aimed to establish a lawful framework for sports betting works, getting its most important supporter in the face of Gov. Mike DeWine. The House Finance Committee held eight hearings but concluded without giving the bill an official league data mandate. After many delays, in 2010, the House Finance Committee passed an Ohio sports betting bill on its ninth hearing, a day before its summer recess. Unfortunately, it did not survive after the 2020 legislative session.
December 22nd, 2021 – HB 29 finally legalizes sports betting
The attempts to regulate sports betting did not end there. In May 2021, Sen. Kirk Schuring introduced his sports betting bill, SB 176. Soon, he realized that the chance of its hearing in the House before the summer 2021 recess was meager. That’s why he integrated the most important parts of the original bill into HB 29, making it more likely to advance.
After several months of debating, HB 29 passed through the House and Senate with a few amendments that allowed sports betting. The bill’s details were altered from Schuring’s original plan. Still, the fundamental structure of SB 176 was kept intact and signed by DeWine in late December 2021.
2023 Gambling operators apply for sports betting licenses in Ohio state
After DeWine signed the bill, the Ohio Casino Control Commission spent the first half of 2022 preparing the rules for managing sports wagering. On June 1st, the commission confirmed that sports betting is planned for launch on New Year’s Day 2023. Two weeks later, the OCCC started receiving license applications, with the first companies being BetMGM and PointsBet, as well as many other OH sports betting sites interested in quickly joining them. The Cincinnati Bengals were the first Ohio sports franchise to apply for a license in July 2022.
Impressive sports betting handle for 2023
In 2023, on New Year’s Day, legal online sports betting was officially started in OH state. The handle for the first month of its operation was an astonishing $1.11 billion in January, of which $1.09 billion was made only through online sports bets. Ohio’s revenue was $208.9 million, marking a single-month record for any state.
By the end of 2023, Ohio’s total sports betting handle reached around $10 billion, which made it one of the fastest-developing states that have achieved such a milestone after the post-PASPA era. Shortly after the new legislation, lawmakers took advantage of the situation by increasing the tax on sports betting platforms from 10% to 20% of the revenue.
Ohio’s sports betting landscape in 2024: growth and challenges
In 2024, during its first entire year of legal sports gambling since its launch in 2023, Ohio became the sixth largest market in the USA by total betting handle. According to GeoComply, Paycor Stadium led all NFL venues in in-stadium online sports betting, averaging 67,000 transactions per game for the 2023-24 season. But, early in the year, the legislators of Buckeye State prohibited all college player prop bets. At the same time, the fast-growing sweepstakes casinos also offer sports betting, and in some states, these platforms are more popular than some of the best online casino sites.
Bloomberg informs that MGM considered selling Northfield Park. The Northfield racino has a 2,200-square-foot sportsbook. Buckeye State’s sports betting handle in 2024 has remained robust, with March 2024 alone documented at $809 million, marking the overall increase in betting activity. The industry develops steadily and shows unwavering interest, making the future look bright.
