Ohio Makes Huge Move Toward Legalized Sports Betting

While the state of Ohio is unfamiliar with winning professional sports championships, it appears like a major victory could happen off the field. On Wednesday, the Ohio Finance Committee voted to push a bill through that had taken more than a year to happen.
There wasn’t much resistance on the bill, with nearly everyone in agreement. Now, the bill will be voted on in the House which will take place on Friday. If the bill passes on the House floor, which Rep. Dave Greenspan expects to happen, then it’ll move on to the Senate. “We’re moving it now to start negotiations with the Senate over the summer so when we come back early in the fall we’ll be able to get a bill on the governor’s desk by the end of the year,” said Greenspan.
Should the bill be passed through the Senate, there are still some disagreements between Greenspan’s House bill and a Senate bill that was initiated last year by John Eklund. The House bill has the Ohio Lottery Commission regulating sports betting while the Senate bill has the Ohio Casino Control Commission to regulate.
Governor Mike DeWine, who is in favor of legalizing sports betting in The Buckeye State, has already laid his support with the Casino Control Commission to regulate sports betting. Greenspan feels like the House will need to pass his bill in order for the two sides to come to an agreement.
The House’s bill coming to the floor is the biggest milestone so far in Ohio’s effort to legalize sports betting. Back in May, the bill initially had its first hearing but the complications between the House and Senate derailed its progress. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic made things a lot harder, as well.
Ohio Must Strike While the Iron is Hot
With most sports and communities looking like they’re ready to open business back up sometime soon, the time for Ohio to strike is now. Neighboring states like Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia have already legalized sports betting and the fear is that Ohio residents could easily slip out of the state borders and find other places to make their bets.
If voted in favor of, legalized sports betting will be allowed at casinos, racetracks with video lottery terminals, and some veteran/fraternal groups. Not to mention, there will be additional places like carry-outs, restaurants, bars, bowling alleys, and other small service businesses that can start taking wagers.
It will be interesting to see how the state handles the collegiate athletic portion of betting. After all, the very popular Ohio State Buckeyes have huge followings and its fans would love to bet on those games. However, most states have outlawed betting on collegiate athletics in the home state of that campus.
Whatever happens in the vote, we can all agree that Ohio is doing the best it can to get the ball rolling on legalized sports betting. It’s about time that the people there can enjoy the same forms of entertainment that most of us have.