Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has introduced a proposal to double the state’s sports betting tax rate to 40%, marking the second increase in less than two years, if approved. The plan, unveiled on Monday, February 3, is part of his final budget proposal for fiscal years 2026-27 and is aimed at funding both professional sports facilities and youth sports programs.
If approved by the Ohio Legislature, the tax hike would generate an estimated $130 million to $180 million annually in new tax revenue. The proposal would create a Sports Facilities Construction and Sports Education Fund, which would be responsible for allocating the additional tax dollars. The fund’s spending would be overseen by a commission appointed by the governor and the state legislature.
Ohio launched legal sports betting in January 2023 with an initial tax rate of 10% on sportsbook revenue. However, in July 2023, DeWine successfully pushed to double that rate to 20%. The latest proposal would push Ohio even higher, making it the second-most expensive market for sports betting operators in the U.S., behind New York, which levies a 51% tax.
Several other states have recently debated similar tax hikes. In Illinois, Governor J.B. Pritzker proposed raising the state’s 15% tax rate to 35%, but lawmakers went further, implementing a sliding scale of 20% to 40% based on operator revenue.
DeWine has positioned the higher tax on sportsbooks as a way to ensure that companies benefiting from Ohioans’ gambling losses contribute to community development.
“These sports gaming [companies] are extremely aggressive…. They’re in your face all the time,” he told the Ohio Capital-Journal. “They’re getting Ohioans to lose massive amounts of money every year, and it seems to me only just and fair that some of the stadiums be paid for by them or a portion of it.”
The proposed increase has drawn strong opposition from the sports betting industry, with concerns that higher costs will negatively impact operators, customers, and responsible gaming efforts. Scott Ward, vice president of the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA), which represents major sportsbooks like FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, and Fanatics Sportsbook, called the proposal “a 400% tax increase over a two-year period.”
“Upstanding American businesses, who work closely with state regulators, shouldn’t have to fear government arbitrarily raising their taxes by exorbitant amounts,” Ward said. Ward also warned that a higher tax rate could push bettors toward offshore and unregulated gambling sites, which do not pay taxes or provide consumer protections.
The most immediate use of the new Sports Facilities Construction and Sports Education Fund would be to help finance a new stadium for the Cleveland Browns. The NFL team is currently seeking to build a $2.4 billion domed stadium in Brook Park, a suburb of Cleveland. The Haslam Sports Group, which owns the team, has said it would cover $1.2 billion of the cost, while public funding would need to account for the rest.
A spokesperson for Ohio Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) confirmed that the Haslam Sports Group is seeking $600 million in state funding for the project. When asked whether the increased sports betting tax revenue could provide the necessary funding, DeWine responded: “It certainly could be.”
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2025/02/04/94050-ohio-governor-proposes-doubling-sports-betting-tax-to-40-to-fund-stadiums-and-youth-sports
