Ohio Governor Mike DeWine saw the early returns for sports betting in his state and may have been a tad bit energized.
DeWine first proposed raising the tax from 10 to 20 percent in his budget announcement in February. The proposal, unprecedented for any state so soon after a launch, didn’t sit well with legislative leaders and has not been discussed in public since.
The House voted in favor of the budget in April but only after removing the tax increase. The Senate Finance Committee put it back before voting in favor of the budget. A day later, the Senate approved the budget proposal with no discussion, but the tax rate hike was included.
The measure returns to the House, which opposes more than just this one line item. The budget could end up in a conference committee.
In January, bettors wagered $1.1 billion, generating $209.2 million for the state of Ohio. Both record-breaking figures.
What do you do for an encore?
You don’t do anything. By April the betting handle came down to earth, declining to $520.6 million.
Taxable sportsbook revenue for the first four months was $449.2 million, with $44.9 million siphoned to the state to support education funding.
The Senate-passed bill changed the way tax revenues can be used. Instead of sending most of the money to the Sports Gaming Profits Education Fund where half goes to subsidizing interscholastic sports and extracurricular activities, the new budget would “support public and nonpublic education for students in grades kindergarten through twelve as determined in appropriations made by the general assembly.”
Yet another added provision calls for the Ohio Casino Control Commission to hire a state university to prepare an annual report on the “prevalence of problem sports gaming in this state,” including recommendations on how to address it.
