Ohio is home to seven racinos that host horse racing events and pseudo-casinos featuring Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) in place of slot machines. These racinos are growing ever-so-steadily with a 1.9% increase in total handle in the 2024 fiscal year compared to the 2023 fiscal year.
On the other hand, Ohio horse racing is struggling despite its storied history. Because of its history, supporting Ohio horse racing remains important to lawmakers. Many are calling for gambling expansion in an effort to allocate new forms of tax revenue toward that end.
As to be expected, there are also those opposed to Ohio online casinos and all other areas of potential growth. Some claim racinos are doing just fine, but the greater issue concerning the lack of Ohio horse racing support remains.
Ohio racinos have grown thanks to VLTs, but the horse racing industry is lacking
When looking at the financial numbers for Ohio racinos, there is a slight growth year over year.
The 2024 fiscal year ended in June with $15.4 billion of wagers placed across Ohio racinos via VLTs. That is nearly 2% better than the $15.1 billion of handle in the 2023 fiscal year, which was 2.8% more than in the 2022 fiscal year. Clearly, racinos are seeing a slight spike in popularity as Ohio gaming expands.
July saw $1.28 billion of handle — 4.3% worse year over year compared to $1.34 billion in July 2023. A fall in handle is never ideal, but in this case, the extreme summer heat is a likely culprit for the dip rather than waning interest in Ohio racinos.
The greater issue comes in the struggles of the Ohio horse racing industry — a topic discussed at length in a recent report published by the Ohio Study Commission on the Future of Gaming. The general theme is that the Ohio horse racing industry requires new methods of funding to stay afloat.
The Ohio horse racing market is larger than it might seem to some. It directly supports 17,000 full-time employees. And with the help of horse race betting, the industry has an economic impact of roughly $1.3 billion on the Buckeye State. It hosts around 9,000 races a year across three different practices with around 40,000 horses involved. That is why many legislators are taking it seriously.
Within that report, the Ohio State Racing Commission gave testimony on its need for more support.
“Our funding is substantially based on the revenues from the pari-mutuel tax, which is in steady decline, in fact experiencing an average 19% drop in the last three years. A new formula or supplemental funds may need to be explored to offset these shortfalls.”
The answer to the problem might be directly related to the racinos as well as gambling expansion.
Legal iGaming & racino table games could generate the funds to help Ohio horse racing
Testimonies throughout the Ohio Study Commission’s report echoed concern for Ohio horse racing, but the racinos connected to these racetracks could make all the difference.
Ohio Senator William P. DeMora was one of the legislators who spoke to the need for horse racing support. DeMora noted that one way to help is to increase purse sizes for winners to attract bigger races and add more races in the evening.
“First, we must ensure that Ohio’s storied horse tracks can remain profitable. Ohio has some of the most historic tracks in the nation, but they risk falling into obscurity due to small purse sizes and limited racing. To remain relevant, thoroughbred tracks would need to open up evening cards to draw in larger crowds and, as such, increase purse sizes.”
While both of those changes would help, where does the money come from? That is where racinos come in.
One method of increasing available funds could be allowing racinos to utilize live-dealer table games, video poker, and other forms of table games. That would help racinos compete directly with casinos and modernize their offerings. The idea is that a portion of the tax revenue generated from table games could be put toward supporting Ohio horse racing.
The other option could be legalizing Ohio online casinos and tethering the licenses to both Ohio casinos and racinos. Currently, four of Ohio’s seven racinos are owned by companies that also operate iGaming platforms in legal states. If a percentage of online casino tax revenue is dedicated to Ohio horse racing, it could make a massive difference.
The steady growth of Ohio racinos is encouraging, with the FY 2024 report further solidifying that trajectory. Still, more work must be done to secure the overall future of horse racing in the Buckeye State.
