Ohio Republican lawmakers introduced House Bill 971, the Save Ohio Sports Act, to eliminate online and mobile sports betting in the state and restrict legal wagering to in-person bets at Ohio’s four licensed casinos.
Rep. Johnathan Newman (R-Troy) and Rep. Beth Lear (R-Galena) filed the bill on June 30, backed by ten Republican co-sponsors. It now awaits a committee assignment and must pass both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly before reaching the governor’s desk.
What HB 971 would change
Online platforms currently account for about 98.5% of Ohio’s total sports betting handle. HB 971 would ban all online and mobile wagering, leaving retail sportsbooks at the four casinos as the only legal outlet. The bill also targets specific bet types and industry practices:
- Prop bets on individual player statistics, in-game wagering and parlays would be banned; only single-game bets on final outcomes would remain legal.
- Betting on college sports would be fully prohibited.
- A single wager would be capped at $100, with bettors limited to eight wagers in any 24-hour period.
- Credit cards could no longer be used to fund sportsbook accounts.
- Sports betting ads would be barred from stadiums and venues and from live game broadcasts.
The bribery case behind the bill
Lawmakers pointed to a 2025 federal corruption case involving Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz as a catalyst. Federal prosecutors accused the pair of accepting bribes to manipulate pitch characteristics in order to influence micro-bets tied to specific in-game outcomes.
Newman linked the bill to both integrity and public health concerns:
“Monetizing addiction to fund public education is the wrong direction for Ohio. Who wins when predatory gambling preys on the vulnerable? It’s not our schools, that’s for sure! It’s the trillion-dollar big gambling companies who win. How is this good for Ohio?”
Supporters also cite 2023 data showing calls to Ohio’s problem gambling hotline rose 227% year over year in the first month after mobile betting apps launched in the state. The American Psychiatric Association classifies gambling disorder as a behavioral addiction, and bill backers note elevated suicide rates among problem gamblers.
Lear put child welfare ahead of tax revenue:
“Gambling is the number one addiction that leads to suicide. Online gambling companies are in an aggressive pay-to-play game with the Ohio Legislature, hoping to expand their profits on the backs of Ohioans with the ‘carrot’ of providing extra tax money for the government. This legislation makes it clear: our kids, their physical and mental well-being, are not for sale.”
The Center for Christian Virtue, led by President Aaron Baer, is also backing the bill. Baer said Ohio’s current model has produced “rising addiction” and financial hardship for families.
DeWine’s regret, and the industry’s response
Governor Mike DeWine, who signed the 2021 law that legalized sports betting in Ohio, has said he regrets it:
“I signed the bill to allow sports betting. I think that was a mistake.”
DeWine has added he would sign a repeal measure if one reached him.
The bill faces resistance from sportsbook operators and budget officials. Legal sports betting generated about $210 million in tax revenue for Ohio in 2025; retail sportsbooks contributed roughly $1 million of that total, a reflection of how thoroughly online wagering dominates the market. DraftKings and FanDuel, the two largest US operators by market share, have reportedly formed a Super PAC with a $48 million budget to influence local elections and oppose the bill. Lobbying has already shaped its path: former co-sponsors Reps. Riordan McClain and Gary Click withdrew their support before formal introduction.
Other jurisdictions are weighing similar reversals. Brazil’s president has called for a ban on online betting platforms, and Brazil’s Workers’ Party has tabled its own bill to ban fixed-odds betting, evidence that lawmakers elsewhere are revisiting legalization decisions once addiction and integrity concerns surface.
If HB 971 advances and becomes law, Ohio would be the first state to fully reverse online sports betting after broad legalization. The bill now awaits referral to a House committee for hearings, where operators, regulators and public health advocates are expected to testify.
Source: Ohio House of Representatives
