Ohio Lawmakers Introduce Bill to End Online Sports Betting

^{Ohio Rep. Riordan McClain is one of three state lawmakers trying to halt mobile sports betting there. (Photo: Associated Press / Andrew Welsh-Huggins)}

A group of three Republican lawmakers in Ohio are introducing legislation that would dramatically scale back the scope of sports betting in the state, including putting an end to mobile betting.

The bill, introduced by Reps. Riordan McClain (R-Upper Sandusky), Gary Click (R-Vickery), and Johnathan Newman (R-Troy), is known as the “Save Ohio Sports Act.”

Bill Eliminates Parlays, Props & Online Betting

According to the three legislators, the bill is designed to put guardrails on an industry that they feel is out of control.

“Is it really worth the taxes that we gain to risk people’s lives, their mental health, their personal well-being, their families, their homes? I don’t think it is,” Click said in a press conference. “So, while we’re not going to roll back the clock to what it was before, we’re going to put some common-sense consumer protections in place to protect Ohio citizens.”

The legislation – which is still having its language finalized – would restrict sports betting to only the physical locations of the four full-scale land-based casinos in Ohio.

“When you combine the addiction of gambling with the addiction of one of these devices, it’s synergistic in a bad way,” Click said, referring to a cellphone. “It multiplies upon itself.”

The bill also eliminates any betting on college sports, all proposition bets, parlays, and any in-game betting.

In addition, the legislation would limit bettors to a maximum of $100 per wager, and would place a cap of eight bets per day – effectively limiting sports betting to an occasional, recreational activity.

Lawmakers Cite Addiction, Suicide Concerns

But the three lawmakers pushing for the bill say it's necessary to prevent harm to Ohioans. At the press conference introducing the bill, they and other speakers repeatedly used the language of addiction when it came to how sports betting is impacting the state.

“This is Narcan,” Dr. Chris Tuell, Clinical Director of Addiction Services at Lindner Center of Hope, said while holding up the nasal spray used to reverse opioid overdoses. “We don’t have a spray for problem gambling. We don’t have a pill for problem gambling.”

Dr. Tuell said that gambling has the highest suicide rate among addictive behaviors. Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation CEO Tony Coder agreed with that framing in his own comments, saying that suicide most frequently happens when an individual is alone.

“Language that restricts sports betting only within casinos, rather than on a phone while sitting along at night could prevent that,” Coder told reporters. “Those are lonely moments, and they can intensify as one dwells on their own thoughts and there is no one there to help that person find help.”

Governor Changes Stance, Backs Ban

While the bill may seem extreme, it could have a powerful ally in Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. After signing legalized sports betting into law in 2021, DeWine has made it clear that he no longer supports that decision, especially following the pitch fixing case involving Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz.

In the past year, DeWine has already banned prop bets for college sports, and has signaled that he would sign a repeal of the state’s sports betting laws if such a bill reached his desk. And while this bill isn’t quite a repeal, that fact may help it get more support – something DeWine acknowledged an outright ban doesn’t have in the state.

The backlash to widespread legalized sports betting isn’t contained to Ohio, either. Rep. Paul Tonko (D-New York) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) have introduced the SAFE Bet Act at the federal level on multiple occasions over the past two years, a bill that would require states to apply for the right to allow sports betting with the US Justice Department while also placing restrictions on advertising, promotions, and prop betting on college sports.