Ohio lawmakers have introduced a new bill, House Bill 298, to begin allowing online gambling in the state. HB 298 would allow the Ohio Casino Control Commission (CAC) to regulate online gambling similar to how it currently handles sports betting.
Under the proposed bill, iGaming would be available in a limited quantity, with those licensed by the state to offer poker, roulette, and other typical casino games online. However, this differs from Ohio’s Senate Bill 197, which aims to bring lottery and horse race betting to the state.
No new licensees would be made under the House bill. Instead, the iGaming offering will be conducted by those already in operation.
Further restrictions would also mean that the Ohio casino bosses would only be allowed to run a single platform at a time, even if the parent company owns several other operators.
Ohio gambling bill will cost operators
Licenses will also cost a pretty penny. According to reports from Next.io, applicants can expect a $50 million upfront fee and $10 million for a renewal. Equipment will also run operators $100,000 with an additional $50,000 application fee.
The bill makes it clear that things must be operated within the state, including servers and other operational equipment. To top it off, the CAC will also test everything in its own lab. It’ll also impose a 28% tax on receipts.
Money made from iGaming and gambling in general is then split between admin costs, the General Revenue Fund (99% after admin), and the Problem Gambling Fund (1%).
While the bill is accommodating to a lot of forms of casino games, it has eliminated any chance of sweepstakes casinos taking off in the state. This style of casino has been the target of several states over the last few months, with Ohio expressly prohibiting them from operating in the region.
In the last week, Ohio officials have begun to speak about the crackdown on illegally operating casinos. According to the CAC and news station WTVG, Ohio has confiscated 7,500 machines used in backroom casinos and other illegal operations since 2015.
