Ohio House passes sports betting bill

By: - May 29, 2020 12:40 am

A casino floor. Photo by Robert Mora/Getty Images.

The Ohio House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would allow Ohioans to place bets on sports.

The bill passed 83-10. It now heads to the Ohio Senate, which has been working on a similar proposal with a different regulatory body and lower tax rate.

The House bill would give oversight responsibilities to the state Lottery, while the Senate bill gives oversight to the Ohio Casino Control Commission. 

House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford, said after the vote the state constitution requires Lottery oversight for gambling, echoing an argument its sponsors made on the floor.

The House proposal taxes revenue (minus winnings) at 10% and puts the money in a fund under the Department of Education. The Senate proposal levies a lighter 6.25% tax on revenue and puts it all in the state general fund.

If the Senate were to amend the House bill, the two chambers would need to hash out their differences in a conference committee before it goes to Gov. Mike DeWine for passage or a veto. 

For more details, see the article below from Thursday morning.

Ohio House to vote on sports betting proposal 

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.

Jake Zuckerman
Jake Zuckerman

Jake Zuckerman is a statehouse reporter. He spent three years chronicling the West Virginia Legislature for The Charleston Gazette-Mail after covering cops and courts for The Northern Virginia Daily.

MORE FROM AUTHOR