Ohio Sports Betting Will Not Have Integrity Fees, Legislators Say

As the works to legalize sports betting in the state of Ohio enters its Senate committee process, key legislators championing the bill say that there will be no integrity fee. They shared the news while introducing their S-111 bill.

For the uninitiated, integrity fees are taxes on legal sports betting that sports leagues such as NBA and Major League Baseball profit from. With the announcement from the lawmakers, Sean O’Brien and John Eklund, major sports leagues will most likely have to face a huge battle if they want their integrity fees.

Eklund expressed his failure to understand the concept of integrity fees, saying that there are lots of ways that sports leagues can make use of integrity fees and participate in the exercise. However, if the only reason that they expect such fees is because they “put on these contests and so we deserve to be paid for you allowing betting to go on with these games,” then he doesn’t understand that.

The legislator further added that he was more open to working with the leagues on the use of official sports data. He said that there might be a place for the league’s “robust statistical gathering process” for legal sports betting in Ohio.

While both O’Brien and Eklund had introduced a placeholder bill on sports betting last year, they did not fill out the language. Currently, the Rules and Reference Committee and the Senate President are deciding on committee assignment options.

Eklund said that he and O’Brien would do everything they can to persuade the chairman so that they can start the hearings on the bill as soon as possible. Since no other senator has any intention of introducing a sports betting bill in Ohio, Eklund said that he feels “fairly confident” about his bill.

Mobile/online sports betting may be available

Even though the bill in question includes mobile and online sports betting that will allow gamblers to sign up remotely, Eklund said that he wants to know what residents of the state think about being able to access sports wagering on their phones. Earlier this year, the senator had shared that despite not being a fan of mobile betting, he was slowly coming around it.

The Casino Control Commission has been chosen as the regulatory body, should sports betting be made legal in Ohio. The senators do not wish the Lottery Commission to be involved as it has expressed no desire in legalizing sports betting in the state.