Resources are available. The National Problem Gambling Hotline can be reached at 1-800-GAMBLER. Ohio's can be reached at 1-800-589-9966.
Ohio is not likely to legalize online casino and lottery games this legislative session, according to House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima).
In May and June, during the late stages of the biennial state budget, GOP lawmakers considered adding measures legalizing and taxing iGaming and iLottery offerings as one way to generate additional state revenue. Those ideas never made the final budget. And standalone House Bill 298 and Senate Bill 197 have not been brought for further hearings.
Huffman said Wednesday the state has had “extraordinary” gambling expansions in the last five years, and that he doesn’t envision further expansion in the next year.
“At some point, there is a saturation point—there’s a group of people who don’t gamble, there’s a group of people who do, maybe some people participate in different ways,” Huffman told reporters.
Gov. Mike DeWine, whose term as governor ends in January 2027, said in July he is “very much against” it.
“To put a casino in everybody’s hands 24/7 is probably not a great idea, and I think it will cause more pain and suffering in regard to gaming addiction, so I’m just not for it,” DeWine told reporters.
He signed into law the bill legalizing sports betting in January 2023. Even before the start date for sportsbooks and other sports gambling licensees, a 2022 survey found that one-in-five Ohioans are considered at least “at-risk” gamblers. In 2023, calls to the state hotline rose significantly.
Earlier this year, HB 298 and SB 197 got proponent testimony from big-name gambling websites, but a cohort of faith leaders, unions and mental health advocates were all staunch opponents.
