Ohio Online Sports Betting

The doors were pushed ajar for the possibility of introducing Ohio Sports Betting in May 2018 when the landscape of the American sports betting scene altered in the blink of an eye.

That month, the U.S. Supreme Court of 2018 found against the generation-long Federal nationwide ban of sports betting as the state of New Jersey prevailed in their court case to show cause that the ban was illegal and against state’s rights. Every state (including Ohio) can now legally rule choose for themselves if they want to begin legal sports betting or not.

Whilst sports betting is not yet legal in Ohio, the snowball of change is gathering impetus and legal sports betting could arrive in Ohio within a matter of months, not years.

The Buckeye State’s legislators will consider after the November 2018 election the bi-partisan Senate Bill 316 to legalize sports betting. The bill itself is short on details other than introducing legal sports betting in Ohio. However, the bi-partisan support should assist in smoothing the process for the introduction of sports betting in Ohio.

Betting on the Cleveland Browns or Cincinnati Reds could be potentially be only a few months away. We will provide updates as they come to hand.

For now, sports bettors in Ohio have the option of playing legal DFS competitions for real money, or legal betting on horse or greyhound betting to fulfil their sports betting needs.

The Buckeye State of Ohio does not currently offer online sports betting for either its visitors or residents.

Online gambling laws at the Federal level have made online betting legal, however, each state is required to pass legislation to regulate and license operators. Until now, Ohio has not yet passed any such legislation.

When Ohio finally passes online gambling laws of its own, we’ll update you with recommendations for the best online sportsbooks (and even the best online casinos for that matter).

Ohio’s state lawmakers have not yet drafted any legislation on the online sports betting or online casino topics. Consequently, until then, legal online sports betting options exist for Ohioans in real money DFS competitions and horse and greyhound racing betting.

Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) competitions have been legislated under Federal law that they are not gambling games and that they are actually defined as games of skill, based on the player’s skill being the primary factor in influencing the outcome.

In what is great news for DFS players in Ohio, the State Legislature passed HB 132 in December 2017 making DFS 100% legal for play in real money competitions in Ohio. The strange news coming out of the decision was that all forms of DFS, except fantasy Horse Racing was deemed legal in Ohio. The other main points decided were;

• Minimum age of 18 to play.
• Consumer protection measures are required put in place by operators.
• Maximum licensing fee possible is $10,000 per year, and;

No additional state taxes charged to operators.

In the next few months as Ohio’s State Legislators reform and adopt legal sports betting options in the State, eSports stands at the forefront as one of the new generation sports betting options that is unsullied by an illegal sports betting past, as the Buckeye State goes through the uptake-period of legal sports betting.

eSports explained

eSports take place in organized tournaments, as players challenge each other’s skills in multiplayer video-games. A very 21^st century activity, eSports have been around as long as multiplayer video games have. However, with the current unprecedented improvements in technology and online streaming services and the role of international sportsbooks for betting purposes, have seen eSports surging in prestige and crowd/viewership numbers.

Many games are played competitively on the eSports tournament calendar, however, the first-person shooters (FPS) like the Call of Duty franchise, real-time strategy games like Starcraft II, sports games like FIFA and multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games such as League of Legends and Dota 2 are all among the fan favorites. With every tournament, crowd numbers swell and the prizes get richer.

Sports bettors are never far away when there is big money to be made. Global bookmakers regularly frame betting markets on the major network of international eSports tournaments.

eSports should be available for your gambling pleasure within the next few months at your favorite and soon-to-be legal Ohio sportsbook.

In the Buckeye State, the Ohio State Racing Commission (OSRC) administers races, animal welfare, the tracks themselves and the licensing of horse racing and horse racing betting.

Horse and Greyhound racing betting is available track side, online and a network of off-track betting locations supplies horse racing betting facilities.

Trackside Betting

Horse racing betting is permitted in Ohio at any of the state’s seven horse racing tracks. A law passed by the State Legislature (Chapter 3770 of the Ohio State Code) in 2011 allowed tracks to install video lottery terminals (VLTs) which are quite similar to slot machines. When visiting any Ohio racetrack to watch live horse races, you can also try your luck at the VLTs. These expanded racetracks have come to be known as ‘racinos’.

Horse racing tracks in New Mexico are also permitted to host slot and video poker machines in addition to their racing betting options.

Off Track Betting (OTB) in Ohio

OTB betting is offered at a well-established network of multiple designated OTB locations through the state of Ohio.

Online Horse Racing in Ohio

In Ohio, it is possible to place horse racing wagers online without any fear of punishment under the state law.

Ohio’s visitors and residents are offered superb online odds on all major horse racing venues worldwide and thoroughbred racing venues in the U.S. directly from their tablets, phones, smartwatches, other mobile devices or home computers, all 100% legally.

Click Here to read about Ohio’s Top Online casinos and gambling laws