Ohio Becomes 18th State to Legalize Fantasy Sports

Last Friday, Ohio became the 18th state to legalize daily fantasy sports after Governor John Kasich gave his final approval to House Bill 132. The piece of legislation was initially introduced by State Representative Jonathan Dever in March, before subsequently passing the House and Senate in November and December, respectively.
While the Casino Control Commission will decide upon the final regulations to be included in the bill, amongst the provisions already included is a maximum $10,000 annual licensing fee for operators, with no separate taxes levied upon the DFS industry.
As a result, state residents over the age of 18 can now look forward to playing daily fantasy sports within a safer and regulated environment, and as Dever explained during the bill’s final hearing:
“What we’re really trying to do here is to allow the 1.9 million Ohioans that are currently engaging in fantasy sports a path to continue to do what they’re doing. But protect the money they’re putting in there. And also [provide] some consumer protections, some controls on the industry itself.”
Following the bill’s passing, Ohio now joins a slew of other states also to have adopted DFS regulation, including Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, and Tennessee.
In the meantime, a number of these states have already made preparations for adopting sport betting should New Jersey win its PASPA case in the US Supreme Court, including New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Mississippi.
There is also the chance that Ohio, too, will eventually follow suit in the eventuality of a federal ban on sports betting being lifted, although the situation would not be straightforward as the state’s constitution forbids all types of
bookmaking. Nevertheless, Rep. Dever has hinted at more developments to come, and as he commented recently:
“.. Senator Coley has encouraged me to get up to speed in those areas. He indicated that it’s his belief we have more to do in the space.”