CINCINNATI – Five months after Ohio banned betting on the individual performance of college athletes, some state lawmakers are calling for a review of the game’s replay.
Three Republican lawmakers who served on the commission investigating the future of gambling in Ohio argued that the rule should be repealed because college athletes could be compensated for their name, image and likeness.
“Players are now paid to play (and perform) in certain sports,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter attached to the commission’s final report on July 12. “This is no different than in any other professional sport.”
The letter was signed by Reps. Cindy Abrams of Harrison, Jeff LaRe of Violet Township and Jay Edwards of Nelsonville. Edwards, chairman of the House Finance Committee and co-chair of the commission, said supporters of the ban have made “ridiculous” arguments that prop bets would lead to harassment of college athletes on social media.
“I don’t care if you bet on it or not,” Edwards said. “If a quarterback goes out and lays an egg, he’ll get trashed on Twitter simply because he lost the game.”
Provided by Edwards
The Ohio Casino Control Commission said it has no plans to reconsider the rule, and Edwards said he was not aware of any proposed legislation to force the change.
And that sounds like good news for Ricardo Hill, boys basketball coach at Indian Hill High School.
“I don’t think anyone should be allowed to bet on college sports because it’s still considered amateur sports,” Hill said. “I’m not a bettor, but I know the scoring just by going to a UC or Xavier game.”
The proposal to lift Ohio’s ban on bonus wagering is one of several new proposals that have received approval from the Future of Gaming panel, which heard more than six hours of testimony about Ohio’s gambling industry and released a 354-page report in July.
Ohio has dramatically expanded legalized gambling with the introduction of sports betting in 2023. The 11-member legislative group was formed to explore potential next steps for the industry and invited input from gambling companies and their industry associations, the Ohio Lottery, the Ohio Casino Control Commission and gambling addiction experts.
The new ideas include:
- An expansion of iGaming in Ohio could bring the state as much as $410 million in additional tax revenue, according to a statement from the Sports Betting Alliance, an industry association for sports betting. Eight states have legalized online apps for poker, slots and other casino games. Ohio’s neighboring states, Michigan and Pennsylvania, have two of the largest markets for iGaming, each of which accounted for more than $1.7 billion in wagers last year. Casino operators and lottery officials fear iGaming could hurt their existing Ohio operations. Lottery officials said their keno revenues have already declined 7% due to sports betting. The lottery wants the ability to offer iLottery games online.
- Brick-and-mortar sportsbooks have struggled to compete with betting apps like FanDuel and DraftKings, prompting state Sen. Nathan Manning to propose a tax cut for operators like BetMGM Sportsbook at The Banks. Manning said he would seek to reduce Ohio’s 20% tax rate for brick-and-mortar sportsbooks to 10% by proposing changes to the state budget process. “These brick-and-mortar locations provide jobs for many Ohioans, and it would be beneficial for everyone to work with them to find common sense solutions,” Manning wrote in a letter to the commission of inquiry.
- The Ohio Casino Control Commission is spending $400,000 on a behavioral scientist to help it develop new responsible gambling tools that Ohioans will actually use. In a March 20 hearing, CEO Matt Schuler said all sportsbooks are required to offer tools to help players limit the time and money they spend on betting apps. “The problem is that I think 2% of those who use the app are using one of these tools,” Schuler told the panel. “So we’re convinced we’re going about it wrong.” The U.K.-based Behavioral Insights team is helping state agencies test new approaches that could be rolled out across all sportsbooks next year.
Of all the new ideas discussed in Ohio’s Future of Gaming report, behavioral science research appears to be the most advanced. The Casino Control Commission expects an initial report on those efforts by the fall.
Behavioural Insights has spent several months analyzing the effectiveness of existing responsible gambling tools, which are typically marked with an “RG” button on sports betting apps. The company’s chief behavioral scientist, Michal Hallsworth, said the key to increasing use could be building betting limits into normal play – rather than telling bettors it’s a way to avoid problems.
“These are not tools for people with a problem. These are tools for everyone,” Hallsworth said. “When you’re in that moment, you’re so caught up in it that you forget the context of where you came from, why you’re doing this, how much you were going to spend. Those are the things you might think about when you stop.”
The panel’s co-chairs, MP Jay Edwards and Senator Nathan Manning, said it could take several years to gain the support needed in Parliament for another massive expansion of gambling.
“iGaming is a popular topic because it’s already happening in other states,” Manning said. “But I know Governor DeWine has expressed his concerns and Senate members have certainly expressed concerns as well. Expanding to sports betting was a big step. Maybe we should put the brakes on a little bit and see how it goes.”
Provided by Manning
This seems to be the approach for college special bets as well, much to Edwards’ chagrin.
The former Ohio University football player, currently serving his fourth and final term in the House, believes the Casino Control Commission made a mistake when it banned special bets on college athletes. He argues the ban will not protect athletes from being harassed by fans. And he claims Ohio will be less able to uncover corruption, as it did in 2023 when it banned an Indiana man from using inside information to get into a University of Alabama baseball game.
“Before we legalized sports betting, we would never have noticed this,” Edwards said. “That bet could have been placed on Bovada or one of those offshore accounts. They would never have been caught. It’s only because we have a regulated market and have eliminated the black market that we can uncover things like this.”
In his March 20 testimony before the Future of Gaming panel, Schuler said Ohio law allows any sports association to propose rule changes regarding permitted betting.
The NCAA argued that players were being harassed on social media and that bettors could influence the outcome of games. Schuler told Edwards he had spoken with athletic directors across the state and was convinced Ohio’s college athletes were at risk without a rule change.
“If a particular bet that you know is being offered depends entirely on you, there may be a temptation to change your behavior,” Schuler said. “You feel the pressure. You’re being harassed. You don’t want to say anything. You don’t want to be the poster child for the problem.”
Hill attends about a dozen college games each year because it helps him stay in touch with former players, including MaCio Teague, who helped Baylor University win a national title.
“Some people have told me they hear the fans screaming, ‘You have to score so many points tonight.’ They call me and laugh about it, but if that person is in financial trouble, it’s just too risky for me,” Teague said.
