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Three Ohio House Republicans view legalizing online casino and online lottery as a “net benefit” to the state.
Reps. Jay Edwards, Jeff LaRe and Cindy Abrams submitted a joint letter encouraging the state to consider allowing Ohioans who can already place online sports bets to participate in iGaming and iLottery.
“While the state should proceed with caution and care with any expansion of this magnitude, with
the right regulatory framework, these types of gaming can thrive with nominal impact to our
current system.”
The letter is part of a study commission report issued Friday on the future of gaming in Ohio. The study commission met four times, including one session on online casino in February.
Members of the study commission provided individual letters detailing their takeaways, points of view and recommendations moving forward. Written testimony provided during the hearings makes up most of the 354-page report.
The letter from House Republicans could foretell filing the first Ohio online casino legislation next year. PlayUSA will update legislative efforts in Ohio and other states in its online casino bill tracker.
Ohio online casino could grow state’s gaming industry
While acknowledging some pushback from some brick-and-mortar gaming facilities and lottery retailers concerned with possible cannibalization, the Ohio House Republicans see “tremendous potential” in legalizing online casino and online lottery.
“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 House Republicans noted that Connecticut saw a 44.7% increase in its gaming market in its second year of iCasino and that Michigan, after launching iGaming in 2021, now has the biggest online gaming market in the US.
“While we understand their hesitation to expand due to an uncertain impact, we believe that iLottery and iGaming could be a net benefit to the state of Ohio. … These tax revenue benefits to the state and funding that could be provided to our K-12 education system cannot be overlooked.”
The House Republicans cautioned that future General Assemblies should make sure any future gaming expansion is done safely and with respect to the current system.
“With ongoing domestic and foreign threats to everyday Ohioans’ data, these platforms provide another avenue for hackers to gain access to someone’s personal records. Further, any expansion of gaming must be done so with caution to the current framework in mind. Allowing iGaming would have an impact on the current casinos and VLT’s that exist throughout this state. … Any implementation of iGaming must not come at a cost to these entities.”
Senate takes more measured outlook on Ohio online casino
Sen. Nathan Manning, who co-chaired the study commission along with Edwards on the House side, wrote favorably about online casinos, but stopped short of an endorsement.
“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.”
Manning is fully on board with legalizing online lottery. He introduced an Ohio iLottery legalization bill, which passed the Senate but not the House, in 2022.
In the short term, Manning wrote that Ohio should offer lottery draw games and multistate online lottery games.
Two other senators opposed Ohio moving forward with online casino or online lottery.
Sen. Al Landis wrote:
“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.”
Sen. William DeMora, the Senate Democrat on the study commission, wrote that he was concerned about the effect online casinos and iLottery would have on local small businesses, future investments into brick-and-mortar businesses and creating “too-easy access” to gambling.
“We cannot risk the position of these critical institutions by making them irrelevant, with Ohioans who want to gamble turning to their phones instead of supporting brick-and-mortar stores. … Introducing iGaming in the state will further impede their ability to compete in the market, thus leading to decreased future investments.”
Ohio online casino could generate half billion in tax revenue
Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney, the House study commission member from the minority party, took a more neutral stance.
Sweeney noted that the Ohio Legislative Service Commission projected that Ohio online casino could generate between $500 million and $650 million in annual tax revenue.
“While these dollars would be a game-changer for addressing the state’s childcare crisis or many other worthy endeavors, caution and thoughtful implementation are warranted as iGaming may have adverse effects on Ohio businesses and workers if done poorly or through a rushed process.
Should the legislature move forward with an iGaming bill, Sweeney suggested tethering licenses to brick-and-mortar casinos.
“Any expansion of iGaming should proceed in a way that acknowledges and respects the current industry that has invested in our state to create thousands of good-paying union jobs, strengthen our local economies, and generate much-needed revenue for local governments and public education.”
