Ohio Study Commission Report Suggests Online Casino Legalization Could Begin with Poker

Written By TJ McBride on July 18, 2024
Ohio Online Poker & Casino Study

The Ohio General Assembly recently created a Study Commission on the Future of Gaming in Ohio to better inform lawmakers about what could happen in the next couple of years. 

Now, with their report complete, there is plenty to take away from their findings.

Seemingly every aspect of gaming was covered in some capacity by numerous operators, stakeholders and lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum. But no topic was covered more often than the possibility of adding an Ohio online casino industry.

Study Commission discusses future of Ohio online casinos

The Study Commission on the Future of Gaming in Ohio consisted of 11 individuals ranging from the Ohio State Racing Commission Chair to a plethora of Senators and State Representatives.

The Study Commission was tasked with examining the:

  • Current status of the statewide lottery and the future of the lottery industry and make recommendations to the General Assembly. 
  • Implementation of sports gaming and the future of the sports gaming industry and make recommendations to the General Assembly. 
  • Current status of casino gaming in this state and the future of the casino gaming industry and make recommendations to the General Assembly.
  • Current status of horse racing in this state and the future of the horse racing industry and make recommendations to the General Assembly.

When it came to Ohio online casinos, most lawmakers and interested parties were hesitantly in favor of legalization. Of course, some lawmakers and operators were against the idea.

Ohio lawmakers speak on the pros & cons of legal online gambling

Let us start with the commentary provided by Ohio lawmakers.

First up was a letter written by three State Representatives: Jay Edwards, Jeff LaRe, and Cindy Abrams. They preached cautious support throughout their letter, focusing on debunking the myth that online casinos could cannibalize their retail counterparts.

“Looking at other states who have implemented either or both iLottery and iGaming, we see significant increases to tax revenues generated with greater participation but also that in-person sales continued to increase. That can largely be contributed to more people participating in the market on their phones and becoming more comfortable/knowledgeable about doing it at a physical location.”

The trio of State Representatives continued outlining just how big revenue increases could be with legal online casinos. Given Ohio’s established reputation as a top gambling state, the sheer amount of potential additional money for education cannot be ignored:

“Similarly, iGaming states have all seen big revenue jumps. Connecticut, in just its second year of iGaming saw a 44.7% percent increase in its gaming market in 2023, while Michigan, which also legalized iGaming in 2021, is now home to the largest online gaming market in the United States at $3.6 billion. These tax revenue benefits to the state and funding that could be provided to our K-12 education system cannot be overlooked.”

Legal online poker could pave the way for Ohio online casinos

Other lawmakers, such as Senator Nathan Manning, still need more convincing. Manning warned commissioners to proceed with caution, saying:

“Other states have shown that these online products are very popular to the consumer and they also bring in substantial revenue to the state. However, we must proceed with caution, as some of these products may need more vetting since they are more easily accessible to the consumer and could potentially have more addictive qualities.”

Of course, some were against gambling expansion altogether. One such lawmaker is Senator Al Landis, who sent in testimony simply stating he is against the proposal:

“Based on the presentations I heard during the committee meetings, I am not in favor of the expansion of the lottery in the state of Ohio. My position is to maintain the status quo and keep the brick and mortar sites rather than have the state expand into iLottery and other forms of virtual gaming.”

Additionally, the report highlighted the potential of adding online poker. State Representative Bride Rose Sweeney proposed pacing the launch of online casinos by first legalizing online poker. Others, like the iDEA group, would like to also legalize online poker to combat illegal offshore operators who are already taking bets in Ohio.

Report includes iGaming support from Ohio stakeholders

Of course, it was not just lawmakers discussing the future of gaming in Ohio. Plenty of operators from all different gaming mediums sent testimonies to the Study Commission, all with similar stances. Each operator went out of their way to say that online casinos do not hurt retail casinos but can lift them up.

PENN Entertainment wasted no time making that exact point. It followed up by outlining its own experience in other markets with iGaming and retail casinos, noting:

“Like others in the industry, PENN supports the legalization of internet gaming as a key catalyst for growth, as it can be complementary to existing brick and mortar business and drive gaming and associated tax revenue. As you are aware, the border states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia allow for iGaming, and we are proud to offer our online Hollywood Casino products in these states.”

The Sports Betting Alliance — made up of sports betting titans including BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics, and FanDuel — also submitted a letter. The Alliance claimed that iGaming can be the tide that raises all boats:

“The six iGaming states generally had stagnant or declining gaming revenues prior to legalizing iGaming, so the net effect of iGaming shows that total gaming revenues far exceeded the projected revenue that would have occurred based on the pre-iGaming growth rates of Land-based revenues alone. Across the six iGaming States, total combined revenue from Land-based casinos and iGaming has exceeded projected revenue in the most recent year of data from Land-based casinos without iGaming by 75.1%.”

Boyd Gaming even provided an opinion on how Ohio’s online casino legislation should look. It pitched tying iGaming licenses to land-based retail casinos, keeping the tax rate in line with West Virginia or New Jersey.

“We also believe that if Ohio legalizes iGaming, it should emulate the model implemented in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. In each of these states, iGaming licenses are tethered to incumbent land-based casinos and racinos, with multiple skins allowing for a robust iGaming market.”

“However, a sound tax policy that allows the legal operators to market their sites to help move consumers to a regulated environment from an unregulated one is critical. Ohio could emulate the 15% tax rate in West Virginia or the 17.5% tax rate in New Jersey as models that work to accomplish this goal.”

While this Future of Gaming in Ohio report does not equate to official action, it seems like a positive step toward the legalization of Ohio online casinos.

Photo by Dreamstime / PlayOH
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TJ McBride

T.J. McBride is a Denver-based writer and reporter who covers sports betting for PlayOhio. His work has been featured on ESPN, CBS Sports, FiveThirtyEight, Bleacher Report and Yahoo Sports, among others.

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