Ohio Considers Ban on Mobile and College Sports Bets in Major Overhaul

Ohio would ban people from using their phones to place sports bets under new legislation being pushed by House Republicans.

Three lawmakers unveiled a plan on April 8 to restrict sports gaming three years after it became legal. Under their proposal, Ohio would require gamblers to place wagers at casinos, prohibit all betting on college sports, cap the amount and frequency of bets, and limit the ability of sportsbooks to advertise or offer financial incentives.

Ohioans would also be restricted to $100 per wager and would only be allowed to place eight wagers in a 24-hour period. Bets would also only be allowed to be placed in person at one of the authorized casinos in the state.

Wagers would not be allowed on college sports and advertisements for sports betting would be prohibited in arenas and during broadcasts.

“This act focuses on two important things: protecting Ohio consumers and protecting the integrity of the games that we love,” Rep. Riordan McClain (R-Upper Sandusky) said.

Rep. Jonathan Newman (R-Troy) said an overhaul in sports betting is needed to address the financial losses associated with problem gambling. “Americans are projected to lose $1 trillion in personal wealth to gambling by 2030,” he said. “[In] the state of Ohio, $1 billion of personal wealth was lost last year.”

In 2025, the Ohio Casino Control Commission reported more than $1 billion in revenue from sports betting, an overwhelming majority of which came from online betting.

Neither bill has been assigned to a committee.

Sports betting has been legal in Ohio since January 2023, after it passed with bipartisan support and was signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine in 2021. The governor has since said he regrets signing the bill.

DeWine called on the Ohio Casino Control Commission to eliminate prop bets from the list of legal bets in the state after two Cleveland Guardians pitchers were placed on leave due to an investigation into sports betting, and there were reported incidents of college players being threatened.

Rep. Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) at the time said he would push back on efforts to ban prop betting. 

Rep. Dontavius Jarrells (D-Columbus) said he thinks there needs to be a conversation about problem gambling, but that any action must take economic opportunity into account.

“We have an opportunity here to look at a growing industry and ask ourselves, ‘How do we tap into the economic prosperity of this without necessarily putting people in harm’s way,'” he said. “I think there’s a balance that we can do and I’m interested to see how this bill moves.”

Ohio has brought in hundreds of millions of tax dollars from sports betting.

Sports betting revenue is taxed at a rate of 20%. Last year, DeWine proposed doubling the tax to 40% to create a fund for sports stadiums before the state decided to pay for a new Cleveland Browns stadium using unclaimed funds. That plan is on hold while legal challenges play out.