Will Ohio Legalize Casino Online Betting?

Legalized sports betting has largely been a success. Yes, there’s been scandals and yes, casual bettors are losing more money than they’re making.

But… states across the country legalized to create new tax revenue. In that regard, betting has delivered hundreds of millions of dollars. Just ask Ohio. It’s brought in nearly $450 million in tax revenue since legalizing less than three years ago. If the Buckeyes keep winning, those Ohio sports betting figures will continue to boom this year.

But the next “frontier” of online betting could just be online casino, or iGaming. Whereas sports betting is now available in 39 states, online casinos are live in just seven states.

Ohio has toyed with the idea of being state number eight to go live. But will they? There are arguments to be made on both sides, as we get into in this article. Stick with us as we break it all down.

Neighboring States Are Showing Exactly What Ohio Is Missing

Look at Pennsylvania, which borders Ohio. They’re the gold standard of expanded gambling in America. October wasn’t just good — it was a record breaker. Online casinos hit $312 million in revenue, the highest single month any U.S. state has ever posted. More than $100 million of that went straight into state tax collections.

Michigan, another neighboring state of Ohio, isn’t far behind. Their online casinos pulled in $279 million in October, another all-time record for that state.

Then there’s New Jersey, who doesn’t neighbor Ohio, but is the model most states follow. Jersey has had online casinos for more than a decade — since 2013 — and somehow they’re still setting records like it’s year one. October alone pulled in $260 million, up a ridiculous 22 percent from last year. They’ve already matched their entire 2024 total with two months still on the board. Crazy impressive given the maturity of the market.

These aren’t outliers. These states do this every single month. Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan are essentially running fully-formed digital gambling economies — casinos, sportsbook betting apps, cross-promos, player retention, the whole ecosystem. And they’re doing it safely and under strict regulation.

Meanwhile, Ohio — which already has brick-and-mortar casinos, dozens of sports betting apps, and racinos — remains paralyzed by the idea of letting people play blackjack on their phone.

Ohio Floated the Bills… and Then Everything Stalled

Two online casino bills were introduced in Ohio this year: one in the House and one in the Senate. Both wer pretty straightforward. They’d allow online slots and table games, limit the number of licenses, keep control in the hands of existing casino operators, and heavily tax the industry. Nothing radical. Just a tightly regulated extension of what Ohio already allows in-person.

Supporters, like Rep. Brian Stewart, argue this is the logical next step. He says the idea that online casino is some giant moral leap is absurd. Ohio already has slot machines. Already has table games. Already has mobile sports betting. Why draw the line at the most lucrative part of the industry?

Stewart estimates online casino could generate $400 to $800 million per year for the state. That’s not speculative. Those are Pennsylvania- and Michigan-sized numbers, based on real performance next door. Plus, Ohio has a comparable population (12 million, to be exact).

But here’s the problem: the bills never gained momentum. No big public push. No aggressive legislative campaign. Just hearings, discussions, and then silence. The support is there on paper, but the energy behind it evaporated quickly. And that brings us to the real roadblock, which we cover in the next section.

Gov. Mike DeWine Wants Nothing To Do With Online Casino

You can’t understand Ohio’s gambling landscape without understanding this: Gov. Mike DeWine is firmly, loudly, aggressively against online casino legalization. He’s not subtle about it either.

“I’m not for it,” he was quoted earlier this year saying. “Putting a casino in everybody’s hands, 24/7, I think is probably not a great idea.”

He’s made it clear he believes online casinos would spike addiction, overwhelm regulators, and create more harm than revenue. And because of that, he doesn’t want it on his desk. He won’t say the word veto, but you don’t need a political science degree to read between the lines on this one.

This becomes even more complicated when you consider his feelings about sports betting — a product he actually approved. Just this month. DeWine openly said he regretted legalizing sports wagering. Maybe he is being sincere, but as we said, they’re happily taking all the money sports betting taxes are creating.

But let’s just take him at his word on this one. If he regrets sports betting, there’s no universe where he signs a bill that legalizes online casino apps. None!

So Ohio sits here, stuck. Its neighbors are posting record numbers every month. Legislators have written bills that could bring in hundreds of millions. The public is already gambling online through offshore sites anyway. But as long as DeWine is in office, online casinos in Ohio aren’t all that likely to happen.