Ohio senators to debate sports betting bill

It appears that Ohio, or at least the Ohio Senate, is gearing up to pass sports betting legislation following the striking down recently of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (see previous reports).

Local media reports indicate that SB 316 has been introduced to the Senate, albeit with very little content (there’s only one sentence at present), suggesting that it is a placeholder to encourage further debate and loading up with content by lawmakers, who will have opinions on licensing, regulations and tax rates.

The expectation is that hearings to listen to public opinion and expert advice will also likely be held.

Senators have expressed concerns that the state needs to be prepared for the liberalised sports betting market to obviate Ohio punters spending their betting dollars out-of-state by simply crossing the borders to Pennsylvania and West Virginia, both neighbouring states that have sports betting legislation. Three other states around Ohio – Kentucky, Michigan and Indiana – are also reportedly mulling sports betting legalisation.

Related and similar