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Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) has signed a bill into law that legalizes sports betting in Ohio but it will take some time for the many provisions of the legislation to go into effect.
DeWine's signature caps years of debate over how to create a regulated sports betting industry in Ohio.
The governor once stated opposition to sports gambling but says he was happy with how the bill turned out.
"The reality is that we have sports betting in Ohio today. The only question is, are we going to regulate it? And how are we going to regulate it? And that's been the question. So it's the reality of where we are today," said DeWine days before signing the bill. "Other states have it the way that most people are going to be betting is actually on their app, which is the way that people are betting now, many times offshore. So it's here."
The head of the Ohio Casino Control Commission is in charge of choosing a universal start date, for all the different facets of sports betting to launch at the same time.
That date must happen no later than January 1, 2023.
Copyright 2021 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit The Statehouse News Bureau.