The Ohio politician who authored the bill that legalized sports betting in Ohio in 2022 wants the state to abandon its recent sports wagering tax rate hike.
The Buckeye State, which launched online sports betting last year, doubled its original tax rate of 10% to 20% last year under a move originally proposed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, then approved by both the House and Senate.
However, state Sen. Niraj Antani wants things to go back to the way they were and has filed SB 190 with the aim of pushing the reversion through as a legal measure. Antani submitted written testimony to the Senate Finance Committee this week arguing that Ohio made a mistake when it doubled the rate.
“The 20% rate makes us the sixth-highest out of the 38 states with sports betting,” he wrote. “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.
“Ten percent was a reasonable tax rate that put us in the middle of the pack. While I’d love for us to be at the 6.75% rate to tie lowest in the country, going back to 10% is reasonable.”
The increase to 20% has brought millions more dollars to state coffers. The Journal-News reports that the tax hike is expected to lift the state’s sports betting tax revenue by around $100 million, up to $135 million per year.
Other states reassess sports betting tax
The Ohio bill comes amid continued conversation across the U.S. on where sports betting tax rates should fall.
In June, Illinois introduced a new progressive rate that taxes sportsbooks on a sliding scale in accordance with their adjusted gross revenue. AGR above $200 million is now taxed at 40%, nearly triple the previous flat rate of 15%. That made Illinois’ tax ceiling the second-highest rate imposed on sportsbooks, behind New York’s flat 51% rate.
Meanwhile, the topic has been hot in Louisiana in recent days.
On Wednesday, the Louisiana House Ways and Means Committee met to discuss House Bill 22, a measure that aims to drastically raise the sports betting tax rate from 15% to 51%, which would match the highest rate in the U.S.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Roger Wilder, has been voluntarily deferred and will undergo amendments to better suit licensed operators and Louisiana’s gaming landscape. Operators such as Caesars Entertainment, which owns three brick-and-mortar casinos across the state, pushed back against the proposed raise.
Antani also proposes Ohio online casino expansion
Antani is also advocating for an expansion of online casino in the state.
Antani’s SB 312 would establish a market overseen by the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC). Licenses would be available to existing casino operators in the state and the tax rate for online table games and slots would be 15%.
