Ohio’s latest bill is the closest the state has come into legalizing sports betting. The compromise bill which was introduced a week ago is set to permit up to 40 online and land-based licenses when passed into law.
Ohio’s last attempt at passing sports betting legislation was failed by the Senate in 2020. The current bill has higher chances of going through latest January 2022 if it meets general regulatory concerns from all the parties involved.
The Bill’s Key Takeaways
The following are major highlights from the Senate Bill 176 as introduced by Senator Niraj Antani:
- The Bill details that the Ohio Casino Control Commission will take the responsibility of regulating the state’s sports betting.
- Among the 40 betting licenses, 20 of them will apply to online vendors who will be allowed to a maximum of five licenses per single person
- Retail facilities will get up to 20 licenses per vendor
- A non-refundable $1Million license fee will apply to both parties for a 3 year period. The fee will be pooled in the Sports Gaming Revenue Fund
- A non-refundable application fee of $10,000 will also apply
- A 10% tax will apply for each bet
- According to Senator Kirk Schuring who is the chair for Ohio Senate Committee on Gaming, revenue generated from sports betting will be channeled towards private and public education as well as gambling addiction.
If the Bill goes through, Ohio will join 26 other states that have legalized sports betting since 2018’s decision by a U.S supreme court allowing sports betting across states.
