Ohio Lawmakers Propose Drastic Online Sports Betting Ban to Combat Addictive Predatory Gambling Practices

New legislation in Ohio targets online betting apps to protect consumers, potentially risking $205 million in education tax revenue.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 9, 2026, 11:08 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Gambling Insider

A Legislative Strike Against Digital Wagering

Republican lawmakers in Columbus have unveiled a sweeping proposal designed to dismantle Ohio’s robust online sports betting infrastructure just three years after its inception. The Save Ohio Sports Act, spearheaded by Representatives Riordan McClain, Gary Click, and Johnathan Newman, seeks to transition the state back to a retail only model. This move is framed as a necessary intervention to protect citizens from the addictive nature of mobile betting apps and the relentless saturation of gambling advertisements during athletic broadcasts. According to Representative McClain, the goal is to ensure that sporting outcomes are determined strictly by play on the field rather than the fluctuations of gambling markets.

Strategic Shift Toward Retail Isolation

The proposed legislation does not seek a total prohibition of gambling but instead aims to confine all legal wagering to the state’s four primary casinos. This restriction would effectively shutter numerous retail sportsbooks currently operating in partnership with professional sports teams and local businesses, including prominent locations in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Toledo. Under this new framework, major operators like FanDuel, BetMGM, and Caesars would be forced to relinquish their satellite brick and mortar presences. The bill further seeks to impose strict consumer limits, proposing a $100 cap on individual wagers and a maximum of eight bets per person within any 24-hour window.

Erosion of Education and Social Service Funding

The fiscal implications of the ban are significant, threatening a vital stream of revenue that Ohio currently utilizes to bolster its public sectors. In 2025, the 20 percent tax on sports betting generated over $209 million, with online platforms contributing roughly $205.1 million of that total. Currently, the state allocates 98 percent of these funds toward K-12 education and the remaining 2 percent to problem gambling services. State Senator Nathan Manning, a critic of the bill, noted that while the betting revenue accounts for about 1.5 percent of total education spending, losing such a substantial amount would be difficult as school costs continue to rise annually.