Ohio Sportsbook Bill Moves Slowly

Sports betting in Ohio has no progress after a senate meeting last Wednesday. The General Government and Agency Review Committee looked at the Ohio sportsbook bill and noted that it was outdated due to Congress’s changes after the election.

Senator John Eklund said that they need to have another hearing on the subject. Lawmakers who favor the bill need to update it so that their colleagues will approve it. Senate Bill 111 is different from House Bill 194. However, they need to revise it to pass both Senate and House.

According to bookie pay per head sources, Ohio is hurting themselves. Its neighbors West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Indiana, all have legal sports betting. Michigan is preparing for its online sports betting launch. Thus, Kentucky is the only neighboring state that is not considering a legal sports betting industry.

Ohio Sportsbook Bill

Supporters of sports betting in Ohio are working for the bill’s approval. They include DraftKings, FanDuel, Boyd Gaming, Jack Entertainment, Penn National, MGM Resorts, and Jack Entertainment.

According to a political forum, Ohio is suffering from budget deficits due to the coronavirus pandemic. Online betting could help bridge the deficit gap. Only a few Midwest states don’t have sports betting. Thus, Ohio is behind due to the delays in the legislative branch.

If Ohio manages to pass the bill by the end of 2020 or early 2021, it will continue to lose out on millions of dollars in tax revenue. However, it will have a hard time passing the chambers. During election day, several supporters of the bill lost. Authors of the bill need to convince the newly elected officials to support the sports betting bill.

Republicans control both the senate and house in Ohio. That is a problem because most supporters of the bill are Democrats. Even if they passed the bill, they need to agree with the rules and regulations, which might take several months before Ohio residents can learn how to be a bookie.