Just a week after Sen. Nathan Manning filed an online casino bill, Rep. Brian Stewart filed a second in the Ohio House of Representatives that would legalize iGaming and ban sweepstakes casinos.
House Bill 298 would legalize online casino gaming, prohibit sweepstakes casinos, and limit license access. The measure includes a 28% tax rate, a $50 million license fee, and a March 2026 rollout deadline.
HB 298 restricts iGaming licenses to Ohio’s current land casinos and racinos. Such facilities would receive a $50 million fee for a five-year license and a $10 million fee for a renewal.
The Ohio Casino Control Commission would oversee regulation.
HB 298 defines an “online sweepstakes game” as a game, contest, or promotion that’s available to residents via the internet, mobile application, computer terminal, or another similar device, and utilizes a dual-currency system of payment that allows a player to exchange the currency for a cash prize, cash award, or cash equivalent.
Ohio House Bill 298 Would Ban Sweeps’ Casino-Style Games
Online sweepstakes platforms in HB 298 include any unregulated website that offers casino-style games, such as blackjack, poker, and slots. Bingo, wagering on horse racing, lottery gaming, lottery sports gaming, and video lottery terminal gaming are all listed under contests that simulate a gambling game.
A licensed operator can only use sweepstakes terminal devices at a business location if the machines do not “allow any deposit of any money, coin, or token, or the use of any credit card, debit card, prepaid card, or any other method of similar payment to be used, directly or indirectly, to participate in a sweepstakes.”
Ohio joins Louisiana, New Jersey, and Maryland in introducing legislation banning sweepstakes gaming.
Meanwhile, Manning’s Senate Bill 197 would raise taxes significantly, including a 36% rate for Ohio-based operators and 40% for operators without an in-state presence. Out-of-state operators would also face a higher license fee of $100 million, compared to $50 million for current operators.
Along with increasing general taxes for operators, the legislation seeks to legalize iLottery offerings and has a provision to reduce the tax rate on sports betting by casinos on land from 20% to 10%.