Mike DeWine opposed sports betting legalization during the election campaign, but now says it is inevitable.
Ohio Governor-Elect Mike DeWine said his state will legalize sports betting in the coming year, though DeWine insisted the new laws have to be designed “the right way”. In an interview with News 5 Cleveland, Mike DeWine said sports betting “is coming to Ohio, whether people want it or not.”
During the runup to the 2018 midterm elections, Gov. John Kasich and Attorney General Mike DeWine opposed sports betting. The Democrat nominee for governor, Richard Cordray, supported sports betting legalization.
The decision to legalize sports betting appears to be connected to the decision last month by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to provide Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh with a sportsbook license.
Youngstown, Ohio is only a 1-hour drive from Pittsburgh, while Akron is a 1 hour, 45 minute-drive and Cleveland is a 2-hour drive. Northeastern Ohio sports bettors could make a day trip to gamble at Rivers Casino, or make a short weekend trip to do the same.
Out-of-State Sports Bettors
The Associated Press published a story this week which showed thatg 9% of the sports bettors at New Jersey sportsbooks are residents of New York state. Those gamblers are “driving, biking, or taking a train to New Jersey” to engage in their favorite form of gambling.
A further 4% of New Jersey’s sports bettors come from Pennsylvania — most of them in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.
With the prospect of Ohio sports betting money flowing out of state, Mike DeWine predicts the state’s GOP-led legislature will legalize sports betting. The Jack Cleveland Casino would therefore be able to compete with Rivers Casino, thus keeping Cleveland-Akron-Youngstown gamblers at home when they plan a casino trip.
Mike DeWine’s Stance on Sportsbooks
In his interview, Mike DeWine said, “I’m not a big fan of betting, but it is a reality and Ohio voters have made that decision with the casinos and other things throughout the years and so it’s here, I think it’s important for Ohio to do it right and so I will work with the state legislature when I’m governor to make sure this is done right, make sure that we can control it, make sure that we can regulate it.”
Before winning the governor’s race with 50.7% of the vote over Democrat Richard Cordray (46.4%), Mike DeWine was the Attorney General of Ohio under John Kasich. In that role, the governor-elect no doubt was familiar with the American Gaming Association’s contention that $150 billion a year is spent by American gamblers on sports betting.
Of that $150 billion, the AGA estimates that 97% goes to illegal bookmakers operations. Part of that goes to unregulated offshore online sportsbooks, while the rest goes to illegal local bookmakers called bookies. With the inception of mobile sportsbooks and sports betting apps, it is easier than ever to bet on sports.
Sports Betting Apps Increasingly Popular
Mike DeWine points out that anyone with an Android phone or iPhone can bet on sports these days — multiple times during one game. In his tv interview, DeWine said, “Look…people want to gamble. You know, a tremendous amount of gambling goes on under the table in regard to sports.”
Referencing the May 14 US Supreme Court case which struck down a federal ban on sports betting, the governor-elect said, “We need now that the United States Supreme Court has made their ruling we’re going to have every state is going to be jumping into this, people are going to be able to do it on their app.”
Why Ohio Will Pass Sports Betting Laws
Snap analysis suggests that a sizeable percentage of Ohio’s Republican lawmakers will oppose sports betting. They will not want to expand gambling in a way that might cause harm to individual bettors or society as a whole.
If Mike DeWine’s attitude is an indication, sports betting will pass in Ohio anyway. When the legislature approved land-based casinos in 2009, the same arguments proved fruitful. Ohio gamblers did not stop gambling because of the ban: they simply took their money out of state to Pennsylvania casinos.
As DeWine said problem gambling already exists in Ohio. The ban on sports betting hasn’t stopped that. Instead, said the next governor of Ohio, “We just need to make sure that it’s done so we control as much as we can. Problem gambling, people who have a real problem, we need to be part of helping them but at the same time this gambling is coming to Ohio, it’s coming one way or the other.”
