Two Ohio Governor Candidates Back Online Casino Legalization

Richard Janvrin
By: Richard Janvrin
Legal
Two Ohio Governor Candidates Back Online Casino Legalization

Photo by Creative Commons

Key Takeaways

  • Amy Acton and Don Kissick have expressed support for legalizing online casino gaming in Ohio
  • Acton said she is open to responsible expansion to generate additional state revenue
  • Vivek Ramaswamy has not publicly stated his position on online casino legalization

While Ohio has legal online sports betting, online casino play has been discussed for years, including bills with significant support, but it's never materialized. 

That said, there have been recent efforts to ban online sports betting in Ohio, including the Save Ohio Sports Act. 

All that being said, two candidates running for governor in the state are in favor of online casino play. The two candidates are Democrat Amy Acton and Libertarian Don Kissick, according to Cleveland.com. 

The other candidate, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, has been quiet on the issue and hasn't responded to questions from the outlet. 

Amy Acton and Don Kissick Comments

Acton is "open to responsibly expanding igaming (an industry term for online gambling) to increase revenue in Ohio to fund our priorities," according to her campaign spokeswoman Addie Bullock. Those priorities include “public schools, childcare, and measures that would reduce costs and property taxes for everyday Ohioans." 

As for Kissick's point of view, here's what he had to say: 

“I am of the mindset (that) prohibition does not work,” he began. 
“At least with a sensible legalization setup, people are engaging in that activity through licensed and legitimate vendors, as opposed to underground and criminal operations,” he continued. “In addition to the obvious reasons why that is a good thing, this also reduces the risk of people being defrauded while betting.”

Vivek Ramaswamy Hasn't Taken a Public Position

As mentioned, Ramaswamy didn't provide answers. The next governor will replace Governor Mike DeWine, who has not only been against online casinos but has also changed his tune on legal sports betting. 
According to Real Clear Politics polling data, Ramaswamy has a slight edge, though there's an Emerson poll showing Acton with a slight lead. 
To this point, Ohio has had four casinos and seven racinos for more than 10 years, and legal sports betting has been available since 2023. In total, these entities have brought in billions in revenue, including $3.5 billion in revenue just this past year, according to the American Gaming Association. 

Richard Janvrin is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire. He started writing as a teenager before breaking into sports coverage professionally in 2015. From there, he entered the iGaming space in 2018 and has covered numerous aspects, including news, reviews, bonuses/promotions, sweepstakes casinos, legal, and more.

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