Legal mobile sports betting is set to make a splash when it has its Ohio debut. The state just saw one of its teams go to the Super Bowl, prompting a new wave of sports enthusiasm from border to border.
Wheels Moving On Betting Guidelines
After many years of discussion and deliberation, state lawmakers finally settled on legislation to approve an Ohio online gambling measure in 2021. Since its passage, members of the state’s Casino Control Commission have been working out guidelines for the new gambling framework.
The commission has produced five sets of rules, each outlining a different facet of the industry. While most of the licensing criteria have gotten approval from the required agencies, regulators are having a hard time determining what types of wagers should be allowed.
Rules for betting on professional athletics are relatively uniform across the country. Bettors can, more or less, place the same NFL wager in one state as they can in the next.
The Problem With Collegiate Betting
However, collegiate sporting events are a far different story. Several legal US gambling states have restrictions or outright bans against betting on university-level athletics.
Just last year, New Jersey residents voted to end all wagering on in-state collegiate teams. This was a massive development, especially given the state’s reputation for having lax gambling laws.
But it isn’t the only state to pull out of the college betting game. A total of twelve sports betting states limit or bar action on local amateur teams.
Now, Ohio’s top universities are asking that the Casino Control Commission place restrictions on collegiate-level betting.
In a letter to regulators, Ohio State’s Vice President of the Office of Government Affairs requests that wagers on in-state teams be limited to only two sports: football and basketball.
In addition to that measure, Vice President Bretherton has asked that the commissioners exclude prop betting on college sports. This would mean that bettors could only wager on game outcomes.
Bretherton’s message says the following:
“…Our concern is for the student athlete. Allowing an in-game bet on a kick or a free throw can lead to very bad outcomes for the athlete regardless of his/her success due to the ability of angered bettors to anonymize threats and ridicule via social media platforms,” the letter read.”
The Fate Of Ohio Legal Sports Betting
Although her concerns are valid, prop wagering is one of the primary attractors for players when it comes to mobile betting.
Still, Ohio bettors have options. If this rule should pass, sports fans can still place these types of in-game wagers using offshore online betting sites.
These sportsbooks are operated in legal jurisdictions outside of the US, exempting them from rules enacted by local commissions.
For more information on legal US online sports betting, be sure to visit our ribbon for all details you need to get started!
Source: News 5 Cleveland