The Ohio Attorney General’s Charitable Law Section regulates bingo throughout the state and licenses eligible nonprofit organizations. It also licenses bingo manufacturers and distributors. Bingo requirements are outlined in Ohio Revised Code (ORC) Section 2915 and chapters of the Ohio Administrative Code. Ohio Law Welcome to the Ohio Law section of FindLaw's State Law collection. This section contains user-friendly summaries of Ohio laws as well as citations or links to relevant sections of Ohio's official online statutes. Please select a topic from the list below to get started. Gambling and gaming, including casinos, racetracks, and lotteries, are regulated under a combination of federal and state laws. States that allow such gambling normally have a gaming commission established to oversee the regulation of the industry, such as licensing of those employed in the gaming industry. Ohio Casinos & Racinos Permitted to Reopen June 19. Governor DeWine announced Ohio's casinos and racinos are permitted to reopen on June 19, provided they follow protocols for the health and safety of e. Governor DeWine Announces Responsible Restart Ohio; Gaming Facilities Remain Closed.

Up until the 2010s, legal gambling options in Ohio were limited to pari-mutuel horse race betting (legalized in 1933), lottery games (1974), and bingo (1975).

Construction of Vegas-style casinos was authorized in 2009, when both the lawmakers and the voters realized that Ohio gamblers were spending their money in Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

Three years later, Ohio racetracks were allowed to install VLTs.

Ohio Gambling Law Summary

Ohio law defines gambling as “bookmaking; facilitating schemes or games of chance for profit; betting on schemes or games of chance for one’s livelihood; possession of gambling devices; playing craps; roulette or slot machines for money.” This definition does not cover all forms of gambling that are available online, but turning poker or casino games into a major source of income is illegal. Participating in unlawful gambling as a player is usually classified as a minor misdemeanor.

Most gambling-related matters are covered by Ohio Revised Code, section 2915.01 et seq. and 3769.01 et seq. The minimum gambling age is 18 for horse racing, bingo, and lottery games and 21 for casino-style games.

Ohio Online Gambling Laws

Online Gambling in Ohio

Ohio doesn’t have a clear-cut legal definition of gambling. Still, according to Section 2915 of the Ohio code, it is illegal to participate in unlicensed bookmaking or to engage in a game of chance as a substantial source of income. Consequently, the current regulations make it very hard for the authorities to go after recreational players, and if that wasn’t enough, the code doesn’t refer to online play. This means that playing on offshore sites from within the borders of Ohio is perfectly safe as long as you aren’t a professional gambler.

Ohio Casinos

Ohio gambling venues can be grouped into two categories. The state has four traditional Vegas-style casinos, which are allowed to offer slots and table games, and seven racinos, which are permitted to operate Video Lottery Terminals under the supervision of Ohio Lottery. These VLTs are functionally similar to slots, but they are administered in a more centralized manner.

The traditional casinos are located in Columbus (Hollywood Casino Columbus), Toledo (Hollywood Casino Toledo), Cincinnati (Jack Cincinnati Casino), and Cleveland (Jack Cleveland Casino). Racinos, on the other hand, are located in Cincinnati (Belterra Park), Columbus (Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs), Northfield (MGM Northfield, formerly Hard Rock Rocksino), Dayton (Hollywood Gaming Dayton), Youngstown (Hollywood Mahoning Valley), Cleveland (Jack Thistledown Racino), and Lebanon (Miami Valley Gaming).

Ohio does not have a regulated online casino industry. Local businesses are prohibited from operating online gambling sites because of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Playing casino games (namely slots, roulette, or craps) on offshore sites is prohibited.

Ohio Poker

Eight live poker rooms are operating in Ohio. Four of them are operated by the local commercial casinos (Hollywood Casino Columbus, Hollywood Casino Toledo, Jack Cincinnati Casino, and Jack Cleveland Casino). At the same time, the remaining four are standalone venues located in Ontario (Mansfield Gemini Poker Club), West Chester (Ruggles Blue), Columbus (Shark Tank Poker Club), and Dayton (The Ruggles Club).

Hollywood Casino Toledo aside, the casino poker rooms operate at least 30 tables at each location. The card rooms are significantly smaller and operate 8-9 tables each. As is often the case, No-Limit Hold ’em is king, but Limit Hold ’em and Pot-Limit Omaha are also available from time to time.

In the past, Ohio had poker rooms that were operated by charities, but the last venue of this kind was closed in 2013.

Ohio has not passed an online poker bill yet. Local businesses are prohibited from operating real money poker sites. Playing on offshore sites is not explicitly banned, but engaging in such activities is risky due to the lack of customer protections.

Ohio Sports Betting

The Ohio horse racing industry has had its ups and downs, but the situation became relatively stable when local racetracks were allowed to install VLTs to boost their revenue. As of early 2019, there were seven racinos in Ohio, plus one dedicated racetrack. These facilities offer both live and off-track betting. Also, Ohio residents can engage in pari-mutuel horse race betting over the internet via TwinSpires and TVG.

Sports betting has not been legalized yet, but Ohio lawmakers have essentially reached a consensus regarding royalties for professional sports leagues and mobile betting. The current draft of the Ohio sports betting bill would allow all of the local casinos and racetrack-casinos to team up with third-party operators for both retail and online wagering. All licensees would be required to pay a one-time $100,000 fee, but Ohio politicians have decided against introducing an integrity fee. The bill would limit each licensee to just one internet betting platform.

Ohio Daily Fantasy Sports

Ohio was the 18th state in the country to enact a DFS law. The relevant bill was signed by Gov. John Kasich in January 2018 and placed DFS platforms under the oversight of the Ohio Casino Control Commission. The maximum annual licensing fee was set at $10,000, and DFS operators are not required to pay any additional taxes in Ohio, making the barrier of entry very low. Thus, Ohio-based sports enthusiasts have access to all major DFS platforms, including FanDuel, DraftKings, and Yahoo DFS.

Ohio Lotteries

Ohio Lottery sells tickets for Mega Millions, Powerball, and Lucky for Life, as well as five intrastate games: Classic Lotto, Rolling Cash 5, Pick 3, Pick 4, and Pick 5. In 2018, Ohio residents enjoyed purchasing draw game tickets via their mobile devices, thanks to an innovative Lottery Card program. Unfortunately, this program was discontinued, but the Lottery has declared that it might be restored soon. As it stands, all lottery tickets must be purchased from land-based retailers. However, the Lottery does give its customers an option to skip the traditional paper slips, thanks to the ePlaySlip feature of the official Lottery app.

Draw games aside, the Lottery is also authorized to offer instant games, EZPlay products, and keno.

Ohio Bingo

Live bingo games can be hosted by charity organizations, religious groups, and educational organizations. As of March 2019, more than ten legal bingo halls were operating in both Columbus and Cleveland. Unfortunately, Ohio residents do not have access to any legal online bingo options. Playing on offshore sites is not explicitly prohibited due to the way Ohio gambling laws are worded, but engaging in such activities carries a financial risk due to the lack of customer protection.

Ohio Online Gambling FAQ

What types of gambling are available in OH?

Land-based gambling in Ohio is mostly about the state’s 11 tribal casinos and racinos. While most of those gambling establishments don’t offer any table games, people who enjoy slots are going to love what some of them have in store. Other than that, Ohio offers pari-mutuel horse race betting, charitable gambling and has a state-run lottery. Unfortunately, the current regulations make it impossible for Ohio-based companies to provide any regulated iGaming services.

What laws cover online gambling in Ohio?

All the local laws that have to do with gambling are listed in Section 2915 of the Ohio code. As is the case with most US-states, those regulations have been drafted before online gaming became popular or even possible, which means that playing on offshore sites isn’t considered a punishable offense.

Is real money online gambling legal in Ohio?

Yes, online gambling is legal in Ohio, as the law doesn’t regulate using internet services to play games of chance for money.

Which offshore gambling sites accept Ohio residents?

Ohio-based gambling enthusiasts can choose from a wide range of gambling operators, but we recommend playing on Bovada if you’re interested in poker, casino games, or sports betting.

Gambling Laws By State

What are the most popular banking options supported by Ohio-facing sites?

Once you create an offshore gambling account, you’ll be able to transfer the funds using a standard credit card regardless of the operator. Virtually every site supports Visa and MasterCard as long as your card can be used for international transactions. Once you decide to cash out, you should be able to choose between a check and a bank wire transfer.

Does Ohio offer any intrastate online gambling?

As sad as it is, the answer is no. Even though certain so-called experts consider it to be the case, the real answer is that the state of Ohio has never launched a fenced internet gambling industry. In essence, all the sites available to Ohio residents are based offshore.

Is it likely for Ohio to regulate online gambling?

With new casinos being built each year, Ohio is experiencing a rather rapid expansion of its land-based gambling industry. However, there is nothing that could indicate that this might result in any substantial changes to the current real money gaming regulations.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Betting on sports is one step closer to becoming legal in Ohio, after the Ohio House of Representatives on Thursday approved a gambling bill that’s been debated in the Statehouse for over a year.

House Bill 194 would put the Ohio Lottery Commission in charge of regulating the system, and would tax betting receipts at 10%, sending net proceeds to education and gambling-addiction programs. It would allow mobile betting, and also would permit certain veterans’ and fraternal organizations to offer on-site betting through approved state vendors.

House members approved the legislation 83-10, with ‘no’ votes coming from Republicans who are among the chambers more conservative members.

Bill sponsors said legalizing gambling on sports will bring the practice out of the shadows and allow Ohio to raise revenue off something that’s happening already. They also said it will prevent Ohio gamblers from taking their money to bordering states.

Democratic State Rep. Brigid Kelley, a bill sponsor along with Republican state Rep. David Greenspan of Westlake, said a sign in her Cincinnati district advertises sports wagering just 20 minutes away — across the Indiana border.

“So Ohioans who want to wager on sports have to go spend their money somewhere else in another state,” she said. “Well it’s either that or they call ‘their guy,’ or that’s how how I understand it. But we can change that.”

The House bill has faced opposition from socially conservative groups that oppose gambling on principle. Sports leagues and teams have pushed for the bill to require operators to use official league data, which they say would protect the integrity of sports but also allow them to directly profit on sports betting by selling the data to bookmakers.

“The truth is that HB 194 functions as a reverse Robin Hood – taking from the poor and giving to the rich,” leaders with the Center for Community Values, a socially conservative organization, said in a Thursday letter to state lawmakers.

The bill still faces a tough path to becoming law. Ohio Senate leaders and Gov. Mike DeWine both favor regulating sports betting through the state Casino Control Commission. That divide has contributed to the bill becoming bogged down even as other nearby states have legalized their own sports gambling bills.

Both the House and Senate proposals would allow for mobile betting. Neither would raise much money for the state — estimates from the nonpartisan Legislative Service Commission range from $15 million to $20 million in new tax revenues.

The Senate version would levy a 6.25% tax, with proceeds going into the state’s general fund, instead of being earmarked specifically for education.

Other states have moved to legalize sports betting since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in legal in 2018, including most of Ohio’s neighbors. In December, Michigan became the fourth state neighboring Ohio to pass a legalization bill. While a Kentucky legislative committee advanced a sports gaming bill in January for full House vote, the bill has stalled since then.

The House on Thursday also approved House Bill 282, which makes it legal for charitable organizations to operate “electronic bingo” machines that resemble slot machines. The bill would expand existing laws that allow charitable organizations to offer paper “instant bingo” games, similar to lottery tickets. The bill has been backed by fraternal organizations which view the games as a way to raise revenue.

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