What's to come for gambling in Ohio? State lawmakers evaluate next steps

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- State lawmakers are evaluating what next steps there are for gambling in Ohio.

Expansions are projected to bring in billions of dollars for the state, but small business advocates said they hope it leads to a level playing field.

“Ohio’s hospitality establishments have been left behind when it comes to gaming,” Executive VP of the Bowling Centers Association of Ohio David Corey said. “The discrepancies are quite large."

Corey said “hospitality establishments" include small business bowling centers, family-owned bars and restaurants, and other similar places. He said when they were authorized to have sports-gaming kiosks in their business, it was exciting at first.

“However, that really didn’t work out because of some of the regulations on kiosks and what we could and could not do,” Corey said. “Even though some of our bowling centers and bars have these sports betting kiosks they are not utilized at the rate we thought they would be.”

For example, he said sports betting applications on phones and tablets can incentivize users with things like free bets, but that cannot be done at the in-person sports gaming kiosks.

“It takes people out of bricks and mortar establishments,” Corey said. “Ohio’s small, family-owned, bars and bowling centers have not been able to compete.”

Corey said on top of the four casinos and seven racinos in the state, there are 800 fraternal clubs that are permitted to have up to ten low stakes gambling machines in their establishments. He said that means business is sometimes literally leaving and walking across the street. So, he is advocating for an expansion of the businesses that are permitted to have low stakes gambling machines.

“It can generate a tremendous amount of revenue for the state of Ohio and give a shot in the arm to Ohio’s hospitality industry that is still recovering from COVID," Corey said.

“The question was asked: does someone come to the bowling alley to play the lottery or to bowl,” Representative Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville) said. "And I thought the same question could be asked, does someone go to the restaurant to eat or watch the game or drink a beer? It’s part of the overall environment. I’m not saying it’s a done deal and I’m supporting it, or the committee is supporting it, but I think it is absolutely part of the conversation.”

Edwards is co-chairing the gaming study commission at the Statehouse and said everything is being taken into consideration with the big picture in mind.

Corey said 8,000 liquor-permit establishments across the state would potentially be eligible for the low-stakes gaming receptacles. But some said there is the concern that an expansion like that would create too many “mini casinos” across the state.

“That is absolutely a concern and something that we don’t want to hedge out,” Edwards said.

Corey said the expansion would not only mean thousands of new jobs, but also hundreds-of-millions of dollars for the state. He said it could mean a billion dollars each year.

“Our proposal would basically dwarf the proposal of the iGaming folks when it comes to the money generated for the state of Ohio,” Corey said.

Money from gaming goes toward the state, local governments, education, and problem gambling services, among other things. Edwards said when they think of iGaming, it’s a new revenue stream, which the state does not get very often.

“iGaming looks like a gigantic new revenue stream,” Edwards said. “There’s an opportunity there to put more money into education or find some new source, some new thing that the state cares about and start funding these things.”

Edwards said even when they look to iGaming, that does not mean the brick and mortars will be left out of the equation.

“I think there is a way of all of this coming together,” he said. “I would rather see a wholesale approach of a bill that encompasses all changes to gaming so everyone wins a little bit, everyone loses a little bit, and we can try to get something done.”

Edwards said by the end of June they plan to have a report, which he said he hopes will act as a roadmap to legislators as they move forward with new bills related to gaming. The commission meets for the last time in April.