Ohio Introduces New Sports Betting Bill

Ohio state lawmakers have finally ed other US states that have already started the process of legalizing sports betting…

…as they have officially introduced their very own sports betting bill.

The state Senate introduced a bill named Bill (SB) 111, with aim to legalize sports gambling in casinos, racinos as well as in other state venues that have video lottery terminals.

Of course, like in all other states, this process won’t be developing easily. There are already several obstacles that have to be overcome.

The Ohio Bill

The main “culprits” for this bill are state Senators, John Eklund and Sean O’Brien…

…since they were sponsors of the bill SB 111.

This bill actually is following an original bill filed back in 2018, whose aim was to start the process of sports gambling in Ohio and explore all the potential options.

It is mentioned in the bill that Ohio lawmakers want to legalize both in-person and mobile sports wagering. Also, all citizens who wish to place their bets have to be at least 21 years old.

Everyone who works in sports gambling businesses won’t be allowed to participate in this type of gambling. It is important to mention that all servers from the operators that will be hosting wagering on sports events should be positioned in Ohio state casinos and other legal gaming venues…

…or in a safe and secure place that is either owned or operated by the official bookmakers.

But, it is not mentioned specifically in the bill that the venue should be inside of the borders of Ohio. But, since the US Department of Justice recently revised the Federal Wire Act and forbid all sorts of interstate gambling money transactions, this will probably not be an option.

The Ohio Casino Control Commission would be the regulatory body in charge of all gambling activities in the state. Each and every legal gambling operator that wants to apply for the license to operate in Ohio will have to first apply for the state-issued certificate. Of course, the operator will have to pay a fee as well…

…and the bill says that the fee would be around $10,000.

After that, the Commission will have to decide if the potential operator es all necessary requirements to start their gambling activities.

Also, besides paying this fee, operators will have to pay a $100,000 fee every five years if they want to continue working in the state.

Not Everything Goes Smoothly

But, as it was expected from the very beginning, the bill SB 111 is already encountering some difficulties.

Larry Obhof, the President of the Ohio Senate, has already said that he particularly doesn’t approve this bill. He also thinks that state lawmakers don’t have that amount of authority to decide whether Ohio will legalize sports betting or not.

According to him, legalization of wagering on sports events would be allowed solely through an amendment to the state’s constitution…

…which means that the bill will have to go through a public voting process.

Source:

“New bill in Ohio attempts to open state’s sports gambling market”, Erik Gibbs, calvinayre.com, March 15, 2019.