The National Problem Gambling Hotline can be reached at 1-800-GAMBLER. Ohio’s can be reached at 1-800-589-9966. For other resources, check here.
Ohio could block sports bettors from wagering on games with a credit card, under a draft rule being considered.
The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) is finalizing its rule to ban credit card transactions for sportsbooks, a spokesperson for the regulatory agency said Thursday. The rule still needs the green light from the state’s Common Sense Initiative and the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review before going into effect.
Still, it is welcome news for the Problem Gambling Network of Ohio. Executive Director Derek Longmeier said in an interview last Monday that with more than a dozen sportsbooks online in Ohio, it’s already tricky to track spending.
“One of the cardinal rules of gambling, at low risk, is only spending money that you have,” Longmeier said. “If you’re putting money on a credit card, then obviously, that goes beyond that.”
Earlier this year, a few conservative state lawmakers, backed by faith-based and mental health advocates, outlined dramatic reforms of the laws regulating the multi-billion dollar sports betting industry statewide—including by banning credit card usage.
But their new bills are unlikely to go anywhere with this legislature. Just 14 of 132 state lawmakers voted against legalization in 2021, although Gov. Mike DeWine has said recently signing that law was his “biggest mistake.”
A spokesperson for DeWine, over text, declined to comment on the OCCC rule.
Even before the start date for legal sports gambling, a 2022 survey found that one-in-five Ohioans are considered at least “at-risk” gamblers. Then, in 2023, calls to the state hotline rose significantly.
Illinois and Tennessee are two of a half dozen states that have banned credit card bets.
