GOP proposal would ban college sports wagers, cell phone bets in Ohio

By David Beasley
The Center Square 

A group of Republican Ohio lawmakers want to significantly restrict sports betting in Ohio, banning all gambling on college sports and bets placed on cell phones.

The move to take away options from bettors comes three years after the state approved legalized sports wagering and it collected billions in taxes over that time.

But State. Rep. Riordan McClain, R-Upper Sandusky, thinks it’s all too much.

“It’s impossible to watch the games or even listen to sports content without being bombarded with advertisements and offers from gambling companies, particularly focused on the winning,” McClain said.

And he believes the reality is that most betters don’t win.

“Regularly referenced stats show that only 5% of betters are profitable,” McClain said. “And those betters that do win are quickly identified and often by the gambling companies,” he said. “That means that 95% of Ohioans that are betting make deposits, not withdrawals.”

Other lawmakers think sports gambling is addictive, damaging to mental health and marriages and even causes suicides.

“I read from some sources that this is more addictive than actually the use of cocaine,” said State Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery. “While we’re not going to roll back the clock to where it was before, we are going to put some common-sense protections in place to protect Ohio citizens."

Under the legislation, sports betting would only be allowed only in casinos, not on cell phones.

The bills would limit both the amount that could be wagered on sports and the frequency of those bets. It would include a “no debt to bet” provision that would make it illegal to use credits on sports gambling.

Lawrence Funderburke, a former player Columbus Wherle, Ohio State and NBA player, endorsed the legislation.

He pointed out even players are now wrapped in gambling scandals.

“All of these guys have given a black eye to professional sports,” he said.

He said legal gambling encourages “side hustlers” – friends and family members – to try to convince players to do things on the playing field to influence bets.

Sports gambling companies have highly sophisticated technology that will allow them to identify if the customer is in Ohio, sponsors of the legislation said. That would allow the company to block Ohio users from downloading the gambling apps on their phones, the legislators said.

Legal sports betting is much less harmful than the alternative – illegal betting, argues a nonprofit industry group, International Masters of Gaming Law.

“States that have legalized sports betting can regulate problem gambling, including educating and warning people on the dangers and signs of gambling addiction, screening people for problem gambling, and offering voluntary bans and betting limits to people,” the group says. “Unregulated markets, meanwhile, have no such interests or concern over protecting individuals engaging in problem gambling.”

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