- Governor Mike DeWine says he suspects sports betting in Ohio will be legal in 2021.
- Ohio has failed to advance sports betting bills in their legislation.
- Neighboring states Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Michigan all have thriving sports betting markets.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Sports betting in Ohio looks like it could become a reality this year after Governor Mike DeWine says he suspects sports betting in 2021.
While Ohio has failed to launch legal sports betting in its legislation in the past, the COVID-19 pandemic may motivate the Buckeye State to get a bill passed if just for the added revenue.
In addition, neighboring states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Indiana all have thriving betting markets, which could indicate what an Ohio sports betting market would look like.
Ohio Sports Betting 2021?
The Buckeye State has attempted to launch sports betting in past legislation but has failed to pass through both the House and the Senate. So why does Governor DeWine feel confident about sports betting in Ohio now?
The short answer is money. Ohio sports bettors are either wagering online at international betting sites or leaving the state altogether to bet on sports in one of the neighboring sports betting markets.
Ohio, which is looking for a new revenue source to help recover from the COVID-19 shutdowns, is likely to be more open to a legal sports betting market this time around.
“We have people who are betting all the time in Ohio online and they’re going to do this and so allowing us to keep some of this money for education in the state seems to me to make sense,” said DeWine. “There will be sports betting coming to Ohio I suspect this year.”
Even if sports betting comes to Ohio it would be at the earliest in the summer. Sports betting would have to be approved at the next legislative session starting in February.
Following this, a statewide vote would have to approve sports betting, and then another legislative session would be needed in order for the regulations to be determined.
The process of launching a legal sports betting market is a long one, so Ohio sports bettors won’t have regulated betting for a while if it does indeed get legalized in 2021.
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News tags: Columbus | Indiana | Kentucky | Michigan | Mike DeWine | Ohio | Pennsylvania | sports betting
Coming from a background in narrative-based writing, Giovanni strives to write stories that will keep the reader engaged. Although he does pride himself in being accurate, how the story is told is also very important to him. When he’s not keeping readers up to date on sports betting laws and legislation, you can find him writing and recording music, playing videogames, or engaged in heated sports debates with his friends.
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