Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposal to double the state’s sports betting tax rate is losing the support of key members of the state legislature and his own party.
House Finance Committee Chair Brian Stewart (R) said this week, as reported by the Statehouse News Bureau, that he and other Republicans are not in favor of DeWine’s idea to use an increase in wagering tax revenue as a key source of funding for a new $2.4 billion Cleveland Browns stadium.
“I don’t support these tax increases, and in my discussions with members, it’s clear that the majority of Republicans do not support them either,” Stewart wrote. “I think it’s very unlikely we include tax increases in this budget, but that’s my own view, and we will determine as a caucus what gets done in the weeks ahead.”
In February, DeWine included in his budget plan a provision to double the tax on online sportsbooks’ revenue from 20% to 40%. He estimated that it would generate a permanent source of funding worth between $130 and $180 million in additional revenue annually to help support professional sports facilities and increase funding for youth sports education.
“It seems to be only just and fair that some stadiums be paid for by them [sportsbooks] and it seems also fair that our young people, who you know they are targeting, will get some benefit by being able to play sports,” DeWine told the Columbus Dispatch in early February.
However, Stewart said Republicans, who make up nearly two-thirds of House seats, are unconvinced and the committee will seek to remove the raise in the next couple of weeks. The committee is reportedly likely to instead add language to the budget legislation to authorize $600 million in state-backed bonds to help pay for the Browns stadium.
Stewart stressed that no final decisions will be made until after the budget amendment deadline.
Some suggest moving tax in opposite direction
DeWine has shown in the past he is not afraid to increase Ohio’s sports betting tax rate. In 2023, he doubled it from 10% to 20% after just a few months of the market being live.
This year’s 40% proposal would not only mean Ohio has quadrupled the tax rate it levies on operators since launching only sports betting but would also make Ohio one of the highest-taxing markets for licensed sportsbooks.
The emerging hesitancy in the Republican party isn’t the only opposition to a higher tax rate. Back in November, the politician who authored the bill that legalized sports betting in Ohio in 2022 filed a bill with the aim of reversing DeWine’s 2023 tax hike.
Buckeye State Sen. Niraj Antani submitted written testimony in which he argued that Ohio made a mistake when it doubled the rate and has already become unnecessarily punitive for sportsbooks.
Per the Ohio Casino Control Commission’s latest figures, online sports betting in the state yielded more than $80 million in taxable revenue for the state in January 2025 alone, from $992 million in handle.
