Ohio made waves in the sports betting world on Thursday when the Senate passed a bill approving sports betting. Think about it, 16 states have laws in place for betting in sports. As always, at Vegas Betting, we have the latest news.
In a mostly bipartisan vote of 30-2, the bill was approved by the Senate. The bill next heads off to the House. A vote could come soon enough. Unlike a state like Massachusetts, Ohio is making progress towards making sports betting legal in the near future.
The question asked by many is how long would it take? If everything proceeds as expected, the state could have wagered on the books being ready as soon as the Spring of 2022. That would be plenty of time to see sports betting in the state. A more likely scenario involves that date being about a year from now or early Summer, 2022.
There are some interesting wrinkles in the Ohio bill headed to the house. As details pour out, this becomes clearer and clearer.
From looking at this in several ways, the House appears poised to approve the latest version of the bill. Ohio residents still cannot bet when it comes to the 2021 NHL playoffs, or the NBA Playoffs, or any other sport for that matter. More than likely, it will be sometime in 2022, when the dream becomes a reality.
Frustration mounted in both legislative bodies but that appears in the past. A total of 53 licenses would be issued for sports betting on professional and college sports. Originally, the bill included only 40 licenses. The twist is a hybrid license called a rancino.
A total of 25 rancinos will allow casinos and horse racing bets to occur. Also, these establishments will be allowed to partner with other groups to further spread wagering across online apps and much more. As this bill stands, Ohio adults will be allowed to wager on professional and college sports alike.
Again, college athletes will be monitored so they are not point-shaving. That includes the dispensing of insider information as well. There will be safeguards to assure that neither occurs. After that, there are all sorts of kiosks in bars, betting limits, and much more.
“Our coalition is grateful for the care in crafting a bill providing opportunities for fair market access to Ohio’s pro sports organizations, which produces the games that make sports betting possible,” the Ohio Professional Sports Coalition said in a statement.
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Just the idea that licenses to wager and more oculd be passed out by April of 2022 is very encouraging for Ohio residents. Some definitely were surprised a little by the Senate’s actions.
Again, so many states have laws on the books already and are making tons of money already. Look at New Jersey as they have half-billion-dollar handles in a month more often than not. Ohio will not see those kinds of dollar signs. However, $17-23 million coming from such taxes alone is always helpful toward the budget bottom line.
However, the point of emphasis here is they have little time. States keep getting closer and closer to betting on sports. The sooner Ohio can make money off of this the more profitable it will become.
What happened then was revealing. Ohio committees in 2019 had some solid, concrete ideas. They were not able to forge a bill that could get to the governor’s desk.
“The bill calls for 98% of the tax to be deposited in an education fund and the remaining 2% in a fund for problem sports gambling.”
Now, providing some last minute tweaks, the state looks poised to be finally heading in the right direction.
There are even limits at bars that will support betting. Bettors will only be able to bet up to $200 at these locations. Limits will also include betting on spreads, point totals, and moneylines as well. Again, things will be kept simple at first.
There will be a sports betting pool which is run by the Ohio Lottery Commission. Even bingo would be allowed in veteran’s and fraternal organizations to generate more revenue. Again, lots of measures will be in place to help the communities and much more.
The optimism is starting to rise in Ohio. Some have speculated that wagering could be available as soon as August or September. That appears unlikely but stranger things have occurred.
Simply, there will always be tinkering. That is the nature of the process. Time is not on the side of the state. If sports betting does not get approved soon, Ohio will miss the boat with so many states on the books with wagering. The work now begins on mobilizing to get the House on board. The faster that happens, the faster this gets on the books officially.
It’s a great question. The answer is becoming more clear. How the legislature in Ohio works can be best described as decent enough. One never quite knows what will happen next. Therefore, the lean here is to expect state residents to have to wait just a little bit longer. The proverbial finish line is near and residents have to be relieved. Ohio, your turn to bet on sports, gamble on slots and poker, and much more, comes soon enough.
