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A group of Ohio legislators is seeking a ban on online sports betting as part of proposed legislation that would drastically change the Buckeye State’s gaming landscape.
Key Takeaways
- Online sportsbooks, college sports, parlays, player props, and live betting would all be prohibited if the bill passes.
- Legislators want to protect consumers with this proposed legislation.
- Sports betting filled Ohio coffers with more than $200 million in 2025.
Introduced on Wednesday by Republican Rep. Johnathan Newman and Beth Lear, House Bill 971 aims to make sports wagering only available at retail shops. Online sports betting dominates Ohio’s handle and operator revenue, accounting for 98.5% of the amount of money wagered in May, the Ohio Casino Control Commission’s latest reported month.
The proposed legislation goes even further, seeking wagering bans on college sports, parlays, player props, and live markets. These are massive changes to a state where college teams are incredibly popular, and live betting has grown to make up a large percentage of operator handle.
Ohio was one of a handful of states to ban college player props when the NCAA requested nationwide changes in 2024. Gov. Mike DeWine has publicly opposed all player props, especially after a pair of Cleveland Guardians pitchers were arrested and charged with manipulating pitches in a betting scheme. DeWine also has said he regrets signing sports betting into law.
Consumer protections
HB 971 also would limit bettors to $100 maximum individual wagers and only eight bets within 24 hours. Customers would not be able to use credit cards or borrowed money to fund accounts.
“Monetizing addiction to fund public education is the wrong direction for Ohio,” Newman said in a statement. “Who wins when predatory gambling preys on the vulnerable? It’s not our schools; that’s for sure! It’s the trillion-dollar big gambling companies who win. How is this good for Ohio?”
The bill calls for advertising limits and promotion restrictions in an effort to protect consumers, legislators say.
“Gambling is the No. 1 addiction that leads to suicide – online gambling companies are in an aggressive pay-to-play game with the Ohio Legislature, hoping to expand their profits on the backs of Ohioans with the ‘carrot’ of providing extra tax money for the government,” Lear said. “This legislation makes it clear: our kids, their physical and mental well-being, are not for sale.”
Tax effect
HB 971 has not been assigned to a House Committee yet, and it would have to be passed by the chamber and the Senate to reach DeWine’s desk. The legislation is supported by eight other Republican representatives and builds on an announcement in April that lawmakers planned to aggressively alter Ohio sports betting.
Online and retail sportsbooks, which launched on Jan. 1, 2023, generated more than $1 billion in revenue last year, leading to nearly $210 million in tax profits for the Buckeye State. In the first five months of 2026, sports betting has filled Ohio’s coffers with nearly $90 million from the 20% tax rate.
Retail sports betting has only accounted for about $1 million of that year-to-date tax revenue amount.
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