Ohio Sports Betting Rollback Bill Reaches House
This bill, named the Save Ohio Sports Act, is not an attempt at minor tweaks to the existing system. Rather, it proposes a restructuring of the market by removing online and mobile sports betting and limiting legal wagering to casino-based sports gaming facilities. For operators, this would remove the channel that now drives most sports betting activity. For bettors, it would end the app-based access that shaped Ohio’s market after legalization in 2023.
The bill has Republican sponsors and now moves into the House committee process. Before being signed by the governor, it will have to be backed by both chambers of the legislature.
Mobile Betting Sits at the Center of the Bill
HB971’s key provision is the prohibition of remote wagering. Sportsbooks will no longer be allowed to receive bets through mobile applications or web-based platforms.
Additionally, the bill would regulate certain sports betting products that sponsors describe as harmful or high-risk. Live betting, parlays, betting on college sports, and proposition bets would be banned. These products have become central to the growth of sports betting, but they are also frequent targets for lawmakers, integrity groups and gambling-harm campaigners.
The bill would prohibit credit-card payments for sports wagers, credits, or account funding. The measure is framed as a debt-risk safeguard.
New Limits on Bet Size and Frequency
The bill not only imposes a ban on certain products. It would also include regulation of player behavior. Specifically, it sets a $100 cap for each bet and restricts the number of bets at eight per person within 24 hours.
In addition, the legislation would place restrictions on advertising. HB971 would limit sports betting promotions during live broadcasts of sporting events and inside venues for collegiate sports or athletic events.
Advocates of this bill claim that the Ohio market has expanded too fast and betting has become too entwined with the sports culture. According to Representative Johnathan Newman, this measure is designed as a reaction to gambling harms and the marketing pressure put on people who are vulnerable to gambling harm. Representative Beth Lear also says that Ohio needs to get rid of the worst aspects of the current market.
DeWine Has Already Signaled Concern
The bill was introduced in a state where the governor had been supportive of more regulation on sports betting. DeWine has already pressed for tighter prop-bet controls. Ohio removed college player-specific prop bets in 2024, and the governor later called for action on micro-prop markets after the Cleveland Guardians betting investigation.
HB971 is still at an early stage, and the sports betting industry is likely to oppose a measure that would remove online wagering from one of the largest US state markets. However, the bill shows that the political debate in Ohio has moved beyond tax rates and advertising rules. Some lawmakers now want to revisit the basic structure of legal sports betting itself.