Ohio Republicans recommend legalisation of online casinos

Three political representatives have sent a letter to make a case for the introduction of igaming.

US.- Three Ohio House Republicans have submitted a joint letter recommending that Ohio legalise online casinos and ilottery. The letter presented by representatives Jay Edwards, Jeff LaRe and Cindy Abrams follows a study commission report on the future of gaming in Ohio. Regulated online sports betting has been live in Ohio since January 2023.

The Ohio House Republicans see “tremendous potential” in legalising online casino and online lottery: “Looking at other states who have implemented either or both iLottery and iGaming, we see significant increases to tax revenues generated with greater participation but also that in-person sales continued to increase. That can largely be contributed to more people participating in the market on their phones and becoming more comfortable/knowledgeable about doing it at a physical location,” the letter reads.

“While the state should proceed with caution and care with any expansion of this magnitude, with the right regulatory framework, these types of gaming can thrive with nominal impact to our current system,” it adds.

The letter notes that Connecticut saw a 44.7 per cent increase in its gaming market in its second year of icasino and that Michigan, after launching igaming in 2021, now has the biggest online gaming market in the US.

See also: Ohio casinos and racinos report $204m in revenue for May