- Acton’s campaign said she is open to regulating and taxing new online gambling, without backing either pending bill.
- House Bill 298 would tax internet gambling receipts at 28% and Senate Bill 197 at 36%, plus $50 million license fees.
- Both bills define internet gambling games around virtual reels and cards with random outcomes, leaving live-dealer play to regulators.
- Neither bill has been reported out of committee since hearings ended in mid-2025, and both die in December.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Democratic gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton is open to legalizing an Ohio online casino market, her campaign said in written answers to candidate questions published Aug. 2. The position stops short of endorsing either internet gambling bill now sitting in the legislature.
A Candidate Position, Not A Policy Plan
Campaign spokesperson Addie Bullock said Acton would prioritize mental health protections and stronger safeguards for children, according to written answers provided to cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. Bullock said the former state health director accepts that prohibition rarely works. The campaign has argued that taxed online gambling could support K-12 schools, childcare subsidies and property tax relief.
Acton has not introduced or endorsed legislation, and openness to a regulated market is not a commitment to sign a specific bill. Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy has not stated a position. Libertarian nominee Don Kissick also backs expansion, with fewer added restrictions. The election is Nov. 3, and the winner takes office in January.
The seat is open because Gov. Mike DeWine is term limited. DeWine came out against legalizing online casino games in July 2025, citing gambling addiction. House Speaker Matt Huffman said in October 2025 that he did not expect lawmakers to approve further internet gambling within the next year.
Both Bills Stalled Before Their Own Launch Deadline
House Bill 298, from Reps. Brian Stewart and Marilyn John, was introduced May 20, 2025, and referred to House Finance the next day. Senate Bill 197, from Sen. Nathan Manning, was introduced May 13, 2025, and referred to the Senate Select Committee on Gaming on May 14. Neither has been reported out of committee.
Both directed the Ohio Casino Control Commission to set a launch date no later than March 31, 2026. That date passed with no market and no rules.
The two measures split on price. House Bill 298 sets a 28% tax on internet gambling receipts, with 99% of proceeds to the general revenue fund and 1% to the Problem Gambling Fund. Senate Bill 197 sets 36%, rising to 40% when an operator hires a management company and no single owner controls at least half of both companies. Both charge $50 million for an initial five-year operator license, with renewals at $10 million under the House bill and $5 million under the Senate bill.
Only Ohio casino operators and racetrack permit holders could hold a license. The Legislative Service Commission fiscal note caps the field at 11 operators or fewer, depending on ownership. That note put initial license fees as high as $550 million and pegged the 2024 per capita internet gambling tax base at $167 in Pennsylvania and $217 in Michigan.
The Statutory Definition Is Built On Random Outcomes
Senate Bill 197 defines an internet gambling game as a game, event, happening or other matter used to display the outcome of a wager “as authorized by the commission by rule.” The definition then covers two categories: a game using a virtual representation of spinning reels or wheels with an outcome generated by a random number program, and a game using a virtual representation of cards, dice, tiles or other physical equipment producing a random outcome. House Bill 298 carries a nearly identical definition.
Software blackjack sits squarely inside that language. A studio table with a human dealer and real cards does not appear anywhere in either text, so whether Ohio ever licensed live dealer online blackjack would turn on Casino Control Commission rulemaking rather than the statute.
Neither bill writes a payout floor, a minimum return or any table rule into law. Nothing in either text fixes whether a blackjack pays 3:2 or 6:5, or whether the dealer hits soft 17. Both require internet gambling equipment to be tested by an independent laboratory and approved and monitored by the commission, the same structure Ohio uses for sports gaming. That places every game rule in the regulator’s hands.
What A Market Would And Would Not Add
Ohio’s four casinos are the only venues in the state licensed for live table games. The seven racinos run video lottery terminals under the Ohio Lottery, and Senate Bill 197 would hand the licensing of those racinos to the Casino Control Commission while the terminals stay a Lottery program. A legal online market would add a phone lobby, not a new felt table, which is the gap that keeps Ohio players on offshore legal online blackjack sites.
The Legislative Service Commission bill analysis flags a further problem. Article XV, Section 6 of the Ohio Constitution permits three forms of gambling, and it authorizes casino gaming, defined to include table games and their electronic versions, at four casino facilities conducted only by their licensed operators or management companies. Both bills would license racetrack owners as well, and would tax internet play at 28% or 36% against the 33% constitutional rate on gross casino revenue.
The analysis states that a court might examine whether the legislature can authorize internet gambling at all, and whether the constitutional casino requirements apply to it. The Ohio Supreme Court has not ruled on either question.
Both bills die when the 136th General Assembly adjourns at the end of December. Any path to a regulated Ohio online blackjack market would have to start over with a new bill in 2027, under a governor elected Nov. 3.