Ohio senator pitches bill to cut state sports betting tax in half
This could lower the rate to its original percentage if passed.
Key Points
- Ohio originally implemented a 10% tax on sports wagering, which it doubled last year to 20%
- Senator Niraj Antani said this was a wrong move and has authored the bill to lower the tax back to 10%
Ohio Senator Niraj Antani has written a bill that could cut the tax rate on statewide sports betting in half, according to a Dayton Daily News local report.
If passed, Senate Bill 190 would reduce the current tax rate from 20% to 10%, which was the original rate the state adopted when it opened its regulated market nearly two years ago.
The Buckeye State opted to raise taxes on sports betting last year. Antani, who wrote the bill to bring legal sports betting to Ohio, told local news that he believes the move to raise taxes was a mistake.
He said in a written statement, “The 20% rate makes us the 6th highest out of the 38 states with sports betting. The lowest in the country are Iowa and Nevada, three times lower than our rate.
“Our border states, Kentucky, Michigan Indiana and West Virginia, now all have significantly lower tax rates. This puts us at a significant regional and national disadvantage.”
Good to know: Ohio welcomed legalized sports betting in January 2023
To date, more than 35 states in the US have opened legal regulated sports wagering markets since the Supreme Court overturned the previously established nationwide sports betting ban in 2018.
While the Buckeye State is considering lowering its sports betting tax, the state of Louisiana could boost its current sports wagering tax rate from 15% to 51%.
A bill to do just that has been pitched by State Representative Roger Wilder authored House Bill 22, as part of Governor Jeff Landry’s tax code overall package.
However, Wilder has deferred the bill because of gambling industry pushback.
The current special session is scheduled to end November 25, which means addressing the bill again before the session ends could be unlikely.
Tags/Keywords
Players trust our reporting due to our commitment to unbiased and professional evaluations of the iGaming sector. We track hundreds of platforms and industry updates daily to ensure our news feed and leaderboards reflect the most recent market shifts. With nearly two decades of experience within iGaming, our team provides a wealth of expert knowledge. This long-standing expertise enables us to deliver thorough, reliable news and guidance to our readers.
Latest News
