- Lawmakers have introduced OH HB 194 to legalize sports betting.
- Sports betting will be handled by the Ohio Lottery Commission.
- A prior sports betting bill was introduced last month.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new sports betting bill has been introduced in Ohio on Tuesday that aims to legalize sports betting in Ohio.
Lawmakers introduced OH HB 194 that would legalize sports betting and set up the rules of how it will work in the Buckeye State.
Regulating Sports Betting
One of the main goals that this legislation will do is create the Sports Gaming Advisory Board. The board would tell the Ohio Lottery Commission what they recommend the guidelines should be regarding sports betting on college and professional games. Once that is done, the Ohio Lottery commission would be the group that would regulate sports betting.
On top of regulation, the bill lays out what will happen with the money generated from sports betting. There will be a 10 percent tax rate on sports betting. The revenue collected from this tax will go directly to education and gambling addiction programs.
Where Sportsbooks Will Appear
Many other sports betting bills that want their state lottery to regulate sports betting has regulation that only locations where you can buy a lottery ticket is where you can bet on sports. That doesn’t seem like that will be the case in Ohio.
Sportsbooks are going to be allowed to open in a large number of areas. They can be opened in the state’s casinos, racinos, and even at fraternal and veteran organizations. Land-based locations will not be the only locations that you can place your sports bets in Ohio as well. Lawmakers are hoping that statewide mobile betting will be an option for the people in Ohio.
Not The First Sports Betting Legislation
OH HB 194 is not the only sports betting bill that has been introduced recently. Lawmakers in the Senate have introduced OH SB 111 last month which also aims to legalize sports betting.
One thing to note though is that OH SB 111 has not had too much activity with it since it was introduced. There has been no hearings or discussions regarding this legislation. This means that sports betting efforts in Ohio had stalled.
Lawmakers are hoping that this brand-new sports betting bill will generate interest with their fellow members of the House to legalize sports betting in Ohio. It is not yet clear when this new sports betting bill will have a hearing.