COLUMBUS, Ohio — Editor's note: the video in the player above is from a previous story.
Following a three-year process that included several false starts, sports betting is coming to the Buckeye State. On Wednesday, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 29, which legalizes sports betting in the state, into law.
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While the bill stipulates that sports gaming, including the ability to wager on college and professional games, be made available by Jan. 1, 2023, Ohio Sen. Kirk Schuring (R-Jackson Township) said that he is hopeful that Ohioans will be able to place bets before then.
"We want to get this up and running as soon as possible, but we're building a whole new industry," Schuring said, according to Cincinnati.com. "We're hoping it can be done sooner [than 2023]."
The legalization of sports gambling in Ohio marks the end of a more than three-year process that began when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a national ban on sports gaming in 2018. In the years that have followed, the Ohio House and Senate have created and even passed separate bills that ultimately never came to fruition, before passing HB29 earlier this month.
Under the state's new law, Casinos, stadiums, bars, and restaurants will have the ability to apply for gambling licenses, with the industry being regulated by the Ohio Casino Control Commission. Speaking to PlayOhio.com earlier this month, Ohio Casino Control Commission deputy executive director Rick Anthony laid out a potential timetable for Ohioans to place bets.
“We have a year, and we do feel a year is needed,” Anthony said. “Because of the across-the-board universal start date, including the retail components in the bill, we feel that will be the date.”