Is Online Gambling Legal in Ohio? Sportsbooks Yes, iCasino Pending (2026)

Last updated: October 31, 2026

Ohio is a top-ten US sports betting market with no legal online casino, surrounded by three states (Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia) that have both. That mix is why “is online gambling legal in Ohio?” gets muddled answers. Several pages ranking for it are offshore casino reviews that list sites Ohio has never licensed, others describe sweepstakes casinos as settled law, and almost none mention that Ohio just won a federal appeal against Kalshi.

The short answer: some online gambling is legal in Ohio and some is not. As of October 2026 you can legally bet on sports through mobile sportsbooks licensed by the Ohio Casino Control Commission (21+), play licensed daily fantasy sports (18+) and buy Ohio Lottery products. Real-money online casinos and online poker are not legal. Two 2025 bills to legalize them (HB 298 and SB 197) are still technically pending but stalled, and they will die when the session ends on December 31, 2026 unless lawmakers act in the lame-duck weeks. Sweepstakes casinos operate in Ohio with no specific ban, and the Sixth Circuit ruled on September 25, 2026 that Ohio can enforce its sports betting law against Kalshi.

This guide covers each product, the minimum age for each, where the online casino bills stand and why they stalled, the sweepstakes and prediction market fights, the penalties for unlicensed gambling, taxes on winnings, and what it all means for operators, suppliers and affiliates.

What gambling is legal in Ohio? Product-by-product status

This matches the Ohio row in our US gambling laws by state hub: no online casino (bill pending), online and retail sports betting, licensed DFS, sweepstakes open with a ban bill pending, 21 for casinos and sports betting, regulated by the Ohio Casino Control Commission.

Is online sports betting legal in Ohio?

Yes. Gov. Mike DeWine signed HB 29 in December 2021, and online and retail sports betting launched on January 1, 2023. The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) licenses and regulates it under R.C. Chapter 3775, with three licence types: Type A for online sportsbooks (up to 25), Type B for retail sportsbooks (up to 40) and Type C for lottery-run kiosks in bars and restaurants. Every bet has to be placed from inside Ohio, which is why the apps use geolocation.

The market is large and still growing. In 2025 Ohio bettors wagered more than $10 billion, sportsbooks kept just over $1 billion in revenue and the state collected nearly $210 million in tax, according to OCCC figures reported by Covers. The tax rate is 20% of adjusted gross revenue. It launched at 10% and was doubled from July 1, 2023 in the state budget. Gov. DeWine asked for 40% in his 2025 budget to fund stadiums and youth sports, but lawmakers dropped the increase and the rate stayed at 20%.

Is DraftKings legal in Ohio? Can I use FanDuel in Ohio?

Yes, for sports betting and daily fantasy. FanDuel and DraftKings are the two largest Ohio sportsbooks by a wide margin. In December 2025 FanDuel took about $316 million in Ohio bets and DraftKings about $301 million, followed by bet365, BetMGM, Fanatics, Caesars and theScore Bet. Both also run licensed DFS contests in Ohio.

What neither can offer in Ohio is its online casino. DraftKings Casino and FanDuel Casino operate only in states that license iGaming, such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New Jersey. An Ohio resident who drives into Michigan or Pennsylvania can play there legally, because what counts is where you are physically located, not where you live.

Is DraftKings 21 or 18 in Ohio?

Both, depending on the product. The DraftKings and FanDuel sportsbooks require you to be 21 in Ohio, because R.C. Chapter 3775 sets 21 for all sports gaming. Their daily fantasy contests accept players from 18 under Ohio’s fantasy contest law.

What Ohio does not let you bet on

The OCCC approves every event and wager type in its Event and Wager Catalogue, so markets offered elsewhere can be missing in Ohio. Since early 2024 Ohio has banned player prop bets on college athletes, after the NCAA asked for it over harassment of players; our explainer on what a prop bet is covers the product. In July 2026 the OCCC also formally proposed a rule to stop bettors from funding sportsbook accounts with credit cards, which still needs review by the Common Sense Initiative and the legislature’s Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review before it takes effect. Most large sportsbooks have already dropped direct credit card deposits. Our guide on how to start a sportsbook covers the licence and platform side.

Are online casinos legal in Ohio?

No. Ohio has no licence for real-money online slots, table games, live dealer games or online poker. A site offering them to people in Ohio is not licensed by the state, whatever licence it holds in Curacao or elsewhere, and Ohio’s gambling statutes apply to it.

Where do the 2025 online casino bills stand?

Two bills were filed within a week of each other in May 2025, at the start of the current 136th General Assembly:

Stewart estimated HB 298 could raise $400 million to $800 million a year in tax from a mature market. Neither bill has had a committee vote. In January 2026 lawmakers said HB 298 would not move that year, and in September Stewart floated a revised version that would make online casino promotional credits redeemable only at Ohio’s land-based casinos, to win over casino owners who fear cannibalization (Yogonet, September 21, 2026). Reporting at the time described the bill’s prospects for 2026 as limited.

That is what “pending” means in the title of this guide: the bills are alive on paper, not moving. Ohio’s two-year session ends on December 31, 2026, and any bill that has not passed both chambers by then dies and has to be refiled in 2027.

When will online casinos be legal in Ohio?

Not in 2026 in any realistic scenario, and 2027 depends on the November election. Four things decide it:

1. The governor. Gov. DeWine is a long-time opponent of gambling expansion and has said so again in 2026. He is term-limited and leaves office in January 2027. Democratic nominee Amy Acton has said she supports iGaming with safeguards; Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy has not taken a firm position. The election is on November 3, 2026.
2. Land-based casinos. Ohio’s 11 casinos and racinos employ about 20,000 people. Some owners, including JACK Entertainment and Churchill Downs (a 50% owner of Miami Valley Gaming), have opposed online casinos, which is why HB 298 limits licences to existing venues and why the revised version ties promotions to physical properties.
3. The constitution. Ohio’s casinos exist because voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2009 (Article XV, Section 6(C)) that names one casino each in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo. Some Ohio legal commentators, including WKYC’s “Legally Speaking” segment in May 2025, have argued that a statute legalizing online casinos could be challenged as going beyond that amendment. The question has not been tested in court, but it is an argument opponents can use.
4. Neighbor pressure. Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia all license online casinos, and Ohio players near those borders can legally play there. Sponsors use that lost revenue as the main case for a bill.

For operators, the HB 298 model is the one to plan around: licences tied to Ohio’s casinos and racinos, one skin each, a tax in the high 20s or above, the OCCC as regulator and a sweepstakes ban attached. Watch for a refiled bill in early 2027 and for the new governor’s first budget.

Land-based casinos: what Ohio already allows

Ohio has 11 land-based gaming venues:

• Four commercial casinos regulated by the OCCC: Hard Rock Cincinnati, Hollywood Columbus, Hollywood Toledo and JACK Cleveland, all opened in 2012 and 2013 after the 2009 amendment. They offer slots and live table games.
• Seven racinos with video lottery terminals operated under the Ohio Lottery Commission: Belterra Park, Eldorado Scioto Downs, Hard Rock Northfield Park, Hollywood Dayton, Hollywood Mahoning Valley, JACK Thistledown and Miami Valley Gaming. They have slot-style VLTs but no live table games.

These are the businesses HB 298 would let into online casino, and several of them already partner with mobile sportsbooks. Ohio has no tribal casinos, so unlike states such as New York or Michigan there is no tribal exclusivity to negotiate around.

Are sweepstakes casinos legal in Ohio?

They operate legally in practice, but on contested ground. Ohio has no law aimed at online dual-currency sweepstakes casinos, no attorney general lawsuit against one, and no regulator cease-and-desist campaign of the kind seen in Illinois or Michigan. Major brands, including Stake.us, VGW’s Chumba Casino, Crown Coins, WOW Vegas and High 5, accept Ohio players as of October 2026.

So if you are asking “Is Chumba Casino legal in Ohio?”, the accurate answer is that Chumba is available in Ohio and not banned, which is not the same as being licensed. Ohio’s general gambling law still requires a prize, chance and consideration, and the sweepstakes model rests on the argument that free Sweeps Coins remove consideration. Several states have rejected that argument in 2025 and 2026, and HB 298 would do the same in Ohio by defining any online game that uses a dual-currency, cash-redeemable system to simulate casino play as prohibited.

Ohio’s older sweepstakes law is about something else. The 2013 internet cafe law (HB 7, later strengthened) targets retail sweepstakes terminals in storefronts and capped prize values. Several ranking pages and AI summaries mix the two up. It does not ban online sweepstakes casinos.

For suppliers and affiliates, the risk to watch is a bill like HB 298 coming back in 2027 attached to iGaming, which is the pattern recommended in the NCLGS model iGaming bill and followed in DC and Pennsylvania. Our sweepstakes casino legal map lists Ohio as open with a bill pending, and our guide to where Stake.us is legal lists Ohio as available. For the states where sweepstakes casinos are illegal (13 now, 14 from November 1 when Oklahoma’s ban starts), see the map.

Is Kalshi legal in Ohio?

Not according to the state, and the federal courts have so far agreed. Kalshi’s sports event contracts are still reachable from Ohio at age 18, but Ohio treats them as unlicensed sports gaming. The timeline:

1. March 2025: the OCCC sent Kalshi a cease-and-desist letter, citing unlicensed sports gaming and offers to people under 21.
2. August 2025: the OCCC warned its licensed sportsbooks that offering sports event contracts anywhere could put their Ohio licences at risk.
3. October 2025: Kalshi sued the OCCC and Attorney General Dave Yost in federal court.
4. March and April 2026: Chief Judge Sarah Morrison of the Southern District of Ohio denied Kalshi a preliminary injunction, and the Sixth Circuit refused emergency relief on April 24. The OCCC announced it intends to fine Kalshi $5 million (SBC Americas, April 15, 2026), and Sen. Bill DeMora introduced SB 430, which would define sports event contracts as sports gaming, require an OCCC licence and apply the 20% tax and 21+ age.
5. June 29, 2026: Kalshi sued the OCCC in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas to block the fine, arguing in part that the Ohio Constitution entitles it to a jury.
6. September 25, 2026: a unanimous Sixth Circuit panel ruled in Kalshi’s combined cases against Ohio and Tennessee that its sports contracts are not “swaps” under the Commodity Exchange Act, so federal law does not preempt state sports betting law (SBC Americas). Gov. DeWine said on October 2 that prediction markets “are gambling” and that Ohio “will certainly enforce the law.”
7. October 2026: after the ruling, the OCCC sent cease-and-desist letters to 10 prediction market platforms and brokers over sports event contracts (SBC Americas, October 5, 2026), and later told its own licensees they had until October 30 to cut ties with sports prediction markets or risk their suitability (Covers, October 22, 2026).

The Third Circuit reached the opposite conclusion for New Jersey in April 2026, so the US Supreme Court will probably settle the question. Until then, Ohio is one of the strongest enforcement states for prediction markets. Our guides on whether Kalshi is legal and how prediction markets work track the circuit split.

Is online daily fantasy sports legal in Ohio?

Yes. Ohio licensed fantasy contests in HB 132, signed in December 2017, and the OCCC regulates operators under R.C. Chapter 3774. Players must be 18. Pick’em formats are the part to check product by product: Ohio’s fantasy rules bar contests where players pick against the house rather than against other players, which pushed operators toward peer-to-peer pick’em in the state.

How old do you have to be to gamble in Ohio?

The gambling age in Ohio is 21 for casinos, racinos and sports betting, and 18 for the lottery, horse racing, charitable bingo and daily fantasy sports.

Some pages ranking for this search list Ohio online casinos at 18+. There is no legal online casino in Ohio to set an age for, and any future law would use 21, as both bills do.

Can you sports bet at 18 in Ohio?

No. Ohio requires 21 for every form of sports betting, including lottery kiosks in bars. Only a handful of states set 18, including New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Wyoming, Montana and DC; our 50-state table lists them.

Is it illegal to gamble on offshore sites in Ohio?

Yes. Under R.C. 2915.02, betting on or operating a game of chance outside the licensed system is a first-degree misdemeanor, which becomes a fifth-degree felony for someone with a previous gambling conviction. Running a gambling house is covered by R.C. 2915.03. Offshore casinos that accept Ohio players are not licensed by the OCCC, and Ohio’s voluntary exclusion program and complaint process do not apply to them.

In practice, Ohio enforcement targets operators, not individual players, and we found no reported case of an Ohio resident prosecuted only for playing at an offshore casino. The practical risks for players are frozen balances and no regulator to complain to. The legal risk sits with the operator, payment processors and anyone promoting the site, which is why pages that rank “best Ohio online casinos” with offshore brands are misleading. Our guide on whether offshore sports betting is legal explains how federal law (the Wire Act and UIGEA) fits in.

Do you have to pay tax on gambling winnings in Ohio?

Yes. Gambling winnings are taxable federal income and are included in Ohio taxable income. From tax year 2026 Ohio has a flat income tax rate of 2.75% on income above the exempt threshold, under the 2025 budget bill (HB 96). Ohio does not let you deduct gambling losses at the state level, and some Ohio cities tax gambling winnings too. Licensed sportsbooks and casinos issue Form W-2G above the federal thresholds. See our guides to US gambling taxes and claiming gambling losses for the 2026 federal changes to loss deductions.

What to watch next

• November 3, 2026: the governor’s race between Amy Acton and Vivek Ramaswamy is the single biggest factor for online casinos in 2027.
• Lame-duck session to December 31, 2026: the last chance for HB 298 or SB 197 before they die. A floor vote would be a surprise.
• Early 2027: a refiled iGaming bill in the 137th General Assembly, probably again with a sweepstakes ban attached.
• Kalshi: the $5 million fine, the Franklin County case, the October cease-and-desist letters and any Supreme Court review of the circuit split.
• OCCC rules: the credit card deposit ban moving through rule review.

Our monthly iGaming regulation roundup covers each of these as it lands.

What this means for operators, suppliers and affiliates

Compare how other large states handle the same questions in our guides to New York, which has the biggest sportsbook market and a sweepstakes ban, Illinois, where regulators moved against sweepstakes without a statute, and Virginia, whose 2026 online casino bills got further than Ohio’s.

Next step

If you are entering Ohio or advising someone who is, start with the OCCC’s rules for the product you run and line up counsel before the 2027 session; our list of iGaming law firms includes firms with US state experience.

This article is general information and analysis, not legal advice. State positions change quickly; confirm current law with qualified counsel before making decisions.