Sports betting is starting to sweep the nation. There are currently 30 states and Washington D.C. that have legalized sports betting. This is because of the lucrative nature of the industry. More state legislators are pushing for legal sports betting to drive extra revenue.
Ohio is a state that would benefit drastically from legal sports betting. The sports fans and professional sports teams would make for a large legal gambling industry. There have been many holdups in the state legislature, but the sports betting bill seems to be making some progress.
The sports betting bill in Ohio is scheduled for a committee hearing in the state capital of Columbus. The bill will be read on Wednesday at 11 AM, which was posted on the Ohio Legislature website. State Representatives Jay Edwards of Nelsonville will chair the Conference Committee and direct the meeting.
Edwards has been one of the primary legislators pushing for sports wagering in the state.
Next Steps
The sports betting bill is expected to pass in the Conference Committee. Anything can happen in the sports betting legislative process, as we have seen since 2018, but it would be shocking if the bill did not pass.
If it’s passed on Wednesday morning, the bill would go back to the Senate and House of Representatives for a vote that would likely take place this week. If the Senate and House pass the bill, it would be sent to Governor Mike DeWine.
DeWine has already stated that he supports sports betting, so the real test for sports betting will occur on the Senate and House floors. Sports betting has been held up in the two legislative chambers before, but things are expected to be different this time.
If sports betting is passed, Representative Bill Seitz said that sports betting will begin by January 1, 2023. This means Ohio citizens will still have a decent wait before they can place bets in the state.
The goal will be to launch sports betting by the beginning of the 2022 football season. However, anything can happen during the implementation process, so it’s unknown what will occur once it’s legalized. Yet, the first step is for sports wagering to be legalized in Ohio.
Same Page for Sports Betting
The Senate and House lawmakers from both political parties seem to be in agreement for legal sports betting finally. This will be critical for the bill to pass in the statehouse. Senate Majority Leader Kirk Schuring spoke the framework for approval.
He could not give exact details of the bill, but he is expecting the legislation to be passed.
He said, “We have an agreement on sports gaming. I expect the Conference Committee to meet this week and for the conference report to be approved, and then it will go to the House and Senate floors this week.”
There are no more statehouse sessions on the legislative calendar after December 15. If the bill is not passed, lawmakers would return to debate the bill after the new year. The bill would create up to 25 mobile betting licenses in the state.
The casinos and sports teams would be responsible for the licenses. This would give people the opportunity to place mobile sports bets from their phones. There are currently four casinos and seven racinos in operation.
Ohio is the state’s seventh-largest in the country in terms of population. There are 12 million residents in the state, a professional team in each major sports league, and The Ohio State University Buckeyes.
Sports betting is legal in nearby states like Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, so Ohio is losing money.