Getty Images photo of online sports betting.
The Ohio Republican is proposing to raise the sports betting tax to fund public stadiums and K-12 education.
“I don’t regret going to the track when I was 5 and betting on horses, or having a bookmaker when I was 7 or 8,” said Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus.
For some, like DeMora, the gambling starts early. And he doesn’t like it when people play with his addiction.
“You want the most bang for your buck,” the senator said.
However, he fears that the state will take an even larger share of his winnings.
“If you charge more taxes, you get a smaller payout,” he said.
State Sen. Bill Blessing, R-Colerain Township, has proposed SB 199, which would impose a 2% commission on sports betting. Ohio would employ that revenue to fund public sports stadiums and K-12 education.
The legislation was originally introduced in 2025, when Blessing and Gov. Mike DeWine were trying to find ways to fund a Cleveland Browns stadium, which legislative leaders intended to support. Therefore, this bill is consistent with DeWine’s plan from the previous budget season.
Blessing said this could mean incredible savings.
He added that combined with the governor’s tobacco tax in the budget, the severance bill introducing a 25% excise tax on Kratom, and increasing the excise tax on marijuana to 15%, Ohio would generate $1.5 billion annually.
“If we actually reduce school funding in the near future, that would be a public good,” Blessing said in an interview Tuesday. “And again, people forget that school funding is actually a property tax break.”
The 2% fee is in addition to Ohio’s existing 20% tax on sports gaming revenues.
Blessing said it could raise an additional $200 million a year.
“You increase revenue while discouraging bad behavior,” he said.
While Blessing testified, DeMora was skeptical about how much revenue it would actually bring.
“Everyone assumes that if you tax more, you’ll get more revenue from it,” the Democrat said. “However, other research shows that the higher the tax, the less likely you are to engage in these forms of gambling.”
Blessing said DeMora didn’t have to worry because bookmakers would pay the tax.
“Well, if DraftKings and FanDuel are competing against each other, they can’t just put it all on the player,” he said. “They kind of have to eat that up with lower profits because DraftKings [can say]”Well, we can eat some more of this to beat you.”
We contacted leading sports bookmakers, but none commented. Perhaps they don’t need to worry after all. Special Gaming Committee Chairman Nathan Manning of North Ridgeville said it likely won’t be removed from the committee because it could be a “better conversation” for next year’s budget.
“I don’t think raising taxes necessarily always brings in more revenue,” Manning said. “I think it may do more harm than good.”
While DeWine supports finding pioneering ways to avoid spending public dollars to pay for a recent billionaire stadium, his team says it is currently reviewing the bill. However, he managed to catch the homeless man DeMora.
“Why are we taxing gambling just because some people don’t like it, including the governor who doesn’t like anything fun,” the Democrat said.
DeWine’s team declined to respond to this remark.
The governor opposes gambling, marijuana, intoxicating cannabis and tobacco and has pushed for restrictions on all.
Betting on gambling accounts
Ohio Republican lawmakers have proposed major recent restrictions on sports betting
This is the latest gaming bill to make waves in the Ohio Statehouse.
Last week, a group of House Republicans introduced two bills that would revolutionize the state’s sports gaming industry: banning online gambling, banning bets on college athletics and limiting the types of bets.
According to lawmakers, the first bill prohibits in-game betting, parlay and prop betting, as well as wagering on all college athletics.
The second bans online gaming.
This would ban the employ of credit cards to place bets. It also limits wagers to $100 and allows a maximum of eight wagers in a 24-hour period. It stops financial lures, which are offers offered by bookmakers to get punters to sign up, and bans advertising during live event broadcasts.
These proposals were met with massive reaction online, as Manning noted.
“I understand where they’re coming from. I think it’s a little shortsighted and will do more harm than good.”
Blessing, Manning and DeMora were not fans of either bill. One of the House bill’s sponsors, state Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery, also wasn’t interested in raising taxes on sports betting.
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This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and are published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication on other news outlets because it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
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