Ohio lawmakers just introduced the most aggressive sports betting rollback bill in the country. The “Save Ohio Sports Act,” filed June 29, 2026 by Reps. Johnathan Newman (R-Troy) and Beth Lear (R-Galena), would ban mobile sports betting, outlaw prop bets and parlays, prohibit college sports wagering, cap individual bets at $100, and limit bettors to eight wagers within a 24-hour period. Here is the latest Ohio Sports Betting Bill Update you need to know.
Read that list again. This bill doesn’t tweak Ohio sports betting. It nukes it.
What Does the Save Ohio Sports Act Actually Propose?
Let’s break down every provision because this thing is a beast. The bill would:
- Ban mobile sports betting entirely. All bets must be placed in person at one of Ohio’s four authorized casinos. Your phone? Useless for betting.
- Prohibit proposition bets. No player props. No “will this QB throw over 2.5 touchdowns.” Gone.
- Kill parlay bets. Can’t combine bets. Every wager stands alone.
- Ban all college sports wagering. No betting on Ohio State football. No March Madness brackets through a sportsbook. Nothing.
- Cap individual wagers at $100. Want to put $500 on a game? Can’t.
- Limit bettors to 8 wagers per 24-hour period. That’s not a typo. Eight bets. In a day.
- Ban credit card deposits. No funding your sportsbook account with a credit card.
- Restrict financial inducements. Sign-up bonuses, odds boosts, free bet promos — all on the chopping block.
- Limit sports betting advertisements in venues and during live broadcasts.
The Center for Christian Virtue immediately endorsed the bill, calling it “commonsense guardrails.” Their president Aaron Baer said Ohio’s “experiment with unrestricted sports betting has produced exactly what many feared: rising addiction, mounting financial hardship.”
Is There Any Chance This Bill Passes?
Look — I’ve watched a lot of bad bills get filed in a lot of statehouses. This one ranks near the top.
The political math doesn’t add up. Ohio legalized sports betting in January 2023. Since then, more than $26 billion has been wagered in the state. That’s real tax revenue. Real jobs. Real infrastructure. You don’t unwind a $26 billion market because two state reps and a conservative advocacy group don’t like it.
The Ohio Casino Control Commission hasn’t signaled any support for rolling back mobile access. Governor Mike DeWine hasn’t endorsed the bill. The sportsbook operators — who’ve invested millions in Ohio infrastructure — will fight this with everything they’ve got.
My honest read? This bill is DOA. It’s a messaging bill designed to generate headlines and position its sponsors for future campaigns. We’ve seen this play before in other states. But we’re tracking it because stranger things have happened in state legislatures, and Ohio bettors deserve to know what’s being proposed with their money.
How Would This Bill Affect Ohio Bettors?
If this somehow passed? It would be catastrophic for the average Ohio sports bettor.
Right now, Ohio has one of the most accessible legal sports betting markets in the country. You download an app, verify your identity, deposit funds, and bet from anywhere in the state. Prop bets, parlays, live betting, college sports — all legal, all on your phone.
Under the Save Ohio Sports Act, you’d need to physically drive to one of four casinos: JACK Cleveland Casino, JACK Thistledown Racino, Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati, or Hollywood Casino Columbus. That’s it. Four locations for an entire state of 11.8 million people.
Someone in Toledo? Closest casino is over two hours away. Dayton? At least 45 minutes. Rural Ohio? Forget about it.
And the 8-bet daily limit is wild. During a busy NFL Sunday, most recreational bettors place more than eight wagers before noon. An eight-bet cap would push serious bettors straight to offshore books — which is the exact opposite of what regulation is supposed to do. We covered how restrictions on promotions drive gamblers to black market sites before. This bill would turbocharge that trend.
How Does Ohio’s Bill Compare to Other States’ Rollback Attempts?
Other states have tried pieces of this. Nobody has tried all of it at once.
College betting bans are gaining traction nationwide — Ohio already banned individual player prop bets on college athletes in March 2024. Several states followed. But banning ALL college wagering? That’s a different animal.
Credit card bans are spreading. Ohio itself just implemented one. Colorado passed SB26-131 with deposit caps and credit card restrictions. That’s a reasonable consumer protection measure.
But banning mobile entirely? Only states that never legalized it in the first place have that restriction. No state has legalized mobile, watched it generate billions, and then banned it. That would be unprecedented.
Rep. Newman cited the NCAA’s report that 36% of D1 athletes received abusive communication from gamblers wanting to influence games. That’s a real concern. But you address athlete harassment with targeted laws, not by banning an entire industry.
What’s Legal in Ohio Right Now?
Ohio sports betting remains fully operational with these current rules:
Ohio launched on January 1, 2023 and has been one of the top-performing new markets. The state generated over $26 billion in handle through its first three-plus years. For the full picture, visit our Ohio betting updates page.
Where Can Ohio Bettors Place Wagers Right Now?
Ohio has a loaded legal market. The major regulated operators are present. For bettors who also want offshore options — especially for casino games Ohio doesn’t offer online — Bovada, BetOnline, MyBookie, BetUS, BetNow, Everygame, and TheOnlineCasino all accept Ohio residents.
Offshore sportsbooks don’t impose bet limits the way regulated books sometimes do, which is relevant given the account limiting trend we’re seeing nationwide. We covered our MyBookie sportsbook review and BetUS honest review for bettors exploring those options.
Ohio also recently implemented its own credit card betting ban — a consumer protection measure that actually makes sense, unlike the nuclear option proposed in the Save Ohio Sports Act.
What to Watch Next With Ohio’s Save Ohio Sports Act
Three things matter going forward:
- Committee assignment. The bill needs a committee hearing before it goes anywhere. If leadership buries it in committee, it’s dead quietly. Watch for whether it even gets scheduled.
- Industry response. Sportsbook operators will fight this bill publicly and through lobbyists. Expect op-eds, coalition ads, and heavy lobbying in Columbus.
- November elections. If this bill is a campaign tool rather than serious legislation, watch how Newman and Lear use it heading into their next election cycle.
Eight bets per day. A hundred-dollar cap. In-person only at four casinos for a state with 11.8 million residents. This bill reads like it was written by someone who’s never placed a bet in their life — and that’s probably because it was. The Center for Christian Virtue championing it tells you everything about where this came from. Not from bettors. Also, not from the industry. Not from regulators.
It came from people who think gambling is a sin and want to legislate that belief. And in a state that’s processed $26 billion in wagers? That’s an absolute joke of a bill, and everyone in Columbus knows it.
Rep. Newman quoted the American Psychiatric Association classifying commercialized gambling as “just as addictive as heroin.” He added: “We are people who treasure freedom and liberty. But it isn’t freedom without restraint. It is not liberty without virtue.” Strong words. But virtue doesn’t pay the bills, and Ohio’s sportsbook tax revenue does. The gambling industry pumps real money into state coffers — money that disappears if bettors get pushed offshore where the state collects exactly zero in taxes. We’ve been saying this for years, and the data backs it up every single time.
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