Ohio regulators move forward with rule banning credit cards for sports betting

Ohio regulators are moving forward with a rule that would prohibit sports bettors from using credit cards to fund wagering accounts, a move supporters say could help reduce gambling-related financial harm.

The proposed rule change, being finalized by the Ohio Casino Control Commission, would remove credit cards as a permissible funding source for sports gaming accounts. The proposal still requires approval from the Common Sense Initiative Office and the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review before taking effect.

Under the proposed amendment, Ohio bettors would still be able to fund sports betting accounts through other approved payment methods but would no longer be allowed to use credit cards to place wagers.

The rule change comes as state officials and lawmakers continue debating whether additional safeguards are needed following the launch of legal sports betting in Ohio in January 2023.

Derek Longmeier, executive director of the Problem Gambling Network of Ohio, told the Statehouse News Bureau that using credit cards for gambling can encourage bettors to spend money they do not have.

“One of the cardinal rules of gambling, at low risk, is only spending money that you have,” Longmeier said. “If you’re putting money on a credit card, then obviously, that goes beyond that.”

The proposed rule mirrors one provision included in House Bill 971, the Save Ohio Sports Act, introduced earlier this month by state Reps. Johnathan Newman, R-Troy, and Beth Lear, R-Galena.

Newman has argued that state reliance on gambling revenue can come at the expense of vulnerable Ohioans.

“Monetizing addiction to fund public education is the wrong direction for Ohio,” Newman said in a statement. “Who wins when predatory gambling preys on the vulnerable? It’s not our schools; that’s for sure. It’s the trillion-dollar big gambling companies who win.”

The legislation would ban online sports betting, prohibit wagering on college athletics, proposition bets, parlays and live in-game betting and bar the use of credit cards or borrowed money for sports gambling.

State Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery, previously argued that allowing gamblers to wager with borrowed money can deepen financial problems for those struggling with addiction.

People who are addicted to gambling “lose and lose and lose, and then they figure out, how am I going to pay the bills? I just ran up my credit cards. Now I’m deeper in debt and nothing to show for it,” Click said during an April press conference.

Newman and Lear have argued the restrictions are necessary to reduce gambling addiction and limit what they describe as predatory practices within the sports betting industry.

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine has repeatedly called for tighter sports betting restrictions and previously said signing Ohio’s sports betting law was one of his biggest regrets as governor.

Earlier this year, his administration proposed the credit-card restriction, arguing that gambling with borrowed money can increase the risk of addiction and financial harm.

Ohio would join several other states, including Illinois and Tennessee, that prohibit the use of credit cards for sports betting.

The proposed rule remains under review and must receive final approval before it can take effect.