Cincinnati Reds<\/a>, FC Cincinnati, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Columbus Crew. Their request comes after the District of Columbia and states like Illinois and Virginia gave sports teams access to licenses in their sports betting laws.<\/p>\nMuch of the sports teams\u2019 statement wasn\u2019t new. The teams themselves testified before the state Senate Select Committee on Gaming, which held hearings through last month to get public testimony for key stakeholders and other interested parties.<\/p>\n
The committee came about after lawmakers failed to pass a sports betting bill last year. While a bill did pass overwhelmingly in the House, it did not garner support in the Senate, where legislators there filed a competing bill. The House bill sought the Lottery Commission to regulate sports betting, while the Senate bill gave that responsibility to the Casino Commission.<\/p>\n
The committee received testimony over a two-month span from several other interest groups, all providing their own point of view.<\/p>\n
For example, the state\u2019s casinos pushed for exclusive control of the sports betting licenses. They called on lawmakers to give the casinos and racinos access to three each that they could then, in turn, offer to operators.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers even heard from trade groups, such as grocery stores and bowling alleys, that want to see a lottery-based sports betting product available. On Tuesday, the Fair Gaming Coalition of Ohio posted four tweets in response to Ohio Statehouse News<\/em> Chief Karen Kasler\u2019s tweet about the pro sports group\u2019s effort.<\/p>\n\u201cThe Ohio Lottery currently has the ability to conduct sports betting,\u201d the Fair Gaming Coalition tweeted. \u201cWhat the casinos and pro sports teams are advocating for strips the state of Ohio of that ability and strips funds from education that are desperately needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ohio Sports Betting Bill to Drop<\/h2>\n
As the committee wrapped up its listening sessions, its chairman, State Sen. Kirk Schuring, R-Canton, said a bill would be released sometime after the legislature returned from a two-week break in mid-April.<\/p>\n
On Monday, he told News-Talk 1480 WHBC<\/em> in Canton that he\u2019s been talking to other members of the committee and compiling a list of bullet points to consider for the bill. As of Monday, that list was at nearly 200 items, and Schuring added he expected it to grow.<\/p>\nHe said he was expecting to meet with Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, on Tuesday to let him \u201cfine tune\u201d that list.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully, after after he and I meet sometime this week, we’ll be able to give the language to the Legislative Service Commission to start drafting\u201d a bill, Schuring said. \u201cThere are a lot of moving parts on this bill, and I can’t get into the specifics right now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ohio\u2019s major professional sports teams have banded together to lobby lawmakers and reiterate their call for a piece of any sports betting bill that comes out of the legislature. The Ohio Professional Sports Coalition includes the eight professional sports teams that call the Buckeye State home. It also has the PGA Tour\u2019s Memorial Tournament, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":171256,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,61,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Ohio Pro Teams Demand Legislators Give Them Sports Betting Licenses<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n