Ohio Shouldn’t Have Legalized Sports Betting, Says Governor Mike DeWine

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said that he regrets signing off on legislation to legalize sports betting in the state. DeWine has been leading calls to limit prop bets in major sports in the wake of several sports betting scandals.

On signing the legislation to make sports betting legal, he told the Associated Press, “Ohio shouldn’t have done it.” His main regret is empowering sportsbooks with deep pockets to target gamblers.

He added, “Look, we’ve always had gambling, we’re always going to have gambling. But just the power of these companies and the deep, deep, deep pockets they have to advertise and do everything they can to get someone to place that bet is really different once you have legalization of them.”

DeWine negotiated with the MLB to limit the amount gamblers can wager on micro bets, such as individual pitches. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred commented, “Gov. DeWine really did a huge service, I think — to us, certainly, I can’t speak for any of the other sports — in terms of kind of bringing forward the need to do something in this area.”

The Governor wants other sports to follow the MLB’s lead. “It needs to be holistic, it needs to be universal,” he said. “They’re just playing with fire. I mean, they are just asking for more and more trouble, (with) their failure to address this.”

By they, DeWine means sports leagues and sportsbooks. He has been particularly vocal about the problems of micro-betting following the arrests of Cleveland Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase. The two Dominican players are alleged to have deliberately thrown pitches outside the strike zone to enrich bettors wagering on their micro bets.

Is Legalization the Problem or Solution?

While DeWine argues that legalization has given too much power to sportsbooks to increase gambling, others claim that the additional monitoring that the legal market brings is clamping down on sports fixing and problem gambling.

Gambling researcher Dr. David Forrest told CasinoBeats he believes keeping gambling in the legal sector as much as possible will allow sports leagues to spot betting anomalies. He also said it can protect players from developing severe gambling problems. If gamblers use the black market, it will exacerbate the issues of match fixing and compulsive betting.

In Ohio, other lawmakers also argue that prop betting should not be limited, as many Ohioans enjoy gambling on the markets. Republican House Finance Chairman Brian Stewart said, “I think that prop bets are a significant part of sports betting in the state of Ohio. It’s something that clearly a lot of Ohioans have taken part in and enjoy, and I don’t think there’s something that we should eliminate entirely.”

If prop bets are banned, this could lead to many more gamblers turning to unregulated platforms, which lack the same checks and balances as licensed sportsbooks.

DeWine: Inadequate Support to Repeal Legal Betting

DeWine compromised on his original position that all prop betting should be banned. With the MLB, bettors are limited to placing micro bets of $200.

On the compromise, DeWine stated, “I would have preferred to have completely done away with the micro-prop bets, but this is the area that he (Manfred) was able to settle on with them (sportsbooks), and I was pleased with that. And so, I think that’s progress.”

He admitted that he understands there is not enough support to repeal the bill that legalized sports betting. He stated, “There’s not the votes for that. I can count. I’m not always right, but I can pretty much guarantee you that they’re not ready to do this.”

For now, he will continue pushing for small changes to regulations in other sports. He added, “So, you try to do what you can do, and you try and warn people, and try to take action like we did with collegiate, and you try take action like what we’re doing with baseball. But we’ve got to keep pushing these other sports to do it, too.”

His stance against legal gambling means there is little chance he will support any legislation to legalize online casinos in Ohio anytime soon. His term as Governor will come to an end next year, and having already served two terms, he is ineligible for reelection. Pro-gambling groups will be eyeing a candidate who does not share DeWine’s skepticism of the industry.