Ohio lawmakers propose an anti-gambling plan, prompting backlash

Ohio Republican lawmakers introduced two bills that would ban online gambling, prohibit wagers on college athletics, and restrict the types of bets, prompting criticism from bettors, sports analysts, sports journalists, and former professional athletes.

Despite the backlash, it might have a supporter in Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who previously said he regrets legalizing sports betting after it was revealed that two Cleveland Guardians pitchers, Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase, were involved in a scheme to rig their pitches.

NOW: Ohio Republican lawmakers are introducing two different bills to overhaul the sports gaming/gambling system:

– No online bets
– Ban on in-game, prop and parlay bets
– Limits wagers to $100
– No ads during games
– No using credit cards to bet
@WEWS @WCPO @OhioCapJournal pic.twitter.com/HwGbqnR89a

— Morgan Trau (@MorganTrau) April 8, 2026

“Can you imagine the pitcher on the mound controlling the game to win bets?” state Rep. Johnathan Newman, R-Troy, told News 5 Cleveland.

State Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery, agreed with Newman, saying that he, Newman, and other lawmakers, state Reps. Riordan McClain, R-Upper Sandusky, and Kevin Ritter, R-Marietta, will “put some common sense consumer protections in place to protect Ohio citizens,” according to the news source.

The lawmakers told News 5 Cleveland that the first bill bans in-game, parlay, and prop bets, as well as wagers on all college athletics.

“When you combine the addiction of gambling with the addiction of one of these devices,” Click said. “It’s synergistic in a bad way.”

They said the second bill prohibits using credit cards to place bets, limits bets to $100, and allows up to eight wagers per 24 hours. Additionally, the bill stops financial lures, the deals that sportsbooks can offer to get a bettor to sign up, and bans ads during a live broadcast of an event.

However, the hardest gut punch for the gambling industry from the second bill is the ban on online gambling, which many people prefer because it is convenient.

The lawmakers told the news outlet that the bill would not apply to Kalshi or Polymarket, just straight sportsbooks.

“We are financing mental health issues here in Ohio, and everyone talks about, ‘Well, it’s going to be a tax benefit,’ but not really when we’re creating mental health issues for our friends and for our neighbors,” Click told News 5 Cleveland.

Tamera Hunter at Townhall II, the Kent-based behavioral health organization that helps those with mental health and addiction conditions, told the news outlet that the widely available online gambling negatively affects people’s health.

“Gambling addiction has severely escalated since then,” she said. “We’re definitely seeing through our screening an increase of 25%-30% since online sports betting has gone live.”

Many people whose careers are centered around sports criticized the bills proposed by the lawmakers.

“Nobody is more out of touch with the gambling industry than politicians. This will solve nothing. People will just go offshore, prediction markets, or travel state lines. It’s the same reason prohibitions in the 20s failed — people just won’t stop betting, but they will do it now in unregulated markets,” Max Hofmeyer, a sports betting specialist, wrote on X.

Bettor Brad Powers also disapproved of the proposal, saying that he would just move to Indiana and calling the Ohio GOP “brain dead.”

Jensen Lewis, a sports host and analyst, also said that the “ridiculous” bills won’t solve anything.

Bobby Carpenter, a former linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys, called these restrictions “draconian.”

Matt Finkles, an Ohio State University graduate who went on to become a defensive end for the New York Jets, wrote on X that “this is one of the dumbest proposals he’s seen from the Ohio legislature.”

Outkick founder Clay Travis also criticized the idea on X.