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Ohio’s governor wants prop betting gone. Gov. Mike DeWine, in his second term, announced Thursday that he is calling on the Ohio Casino Control Commission to remove all prop bets from the state’s legal sports betting menu.
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DeWine’s announcement follows Major League Baseball putting two Cleveland Guardians pitchers suspended over a sports betting-related investigation. He also pointed to previous threats made to Ohio college athletes, which drew attention shortly after legal sports betting launched on Jan. 1, 2023.
Ohio already banned college player props in 2023 after an NCAA request, but professional sports props remain legal. DeWine now wants that to change:
“The evidence that prop betting is harming athletics in Ohio is reaching critical mass,” DeWine said. “First, there were threats on Ohio athletes, and now two high-profile Ohio professional athletes have been suspended by Major League Baseball as part of a sports betting investigation.”
He also stressed that micro prop bets—small, in-game wagers like “next pitch outcome” or “first basket scored”—are especially concerning, citing a New Jersey proposal to ban them as well.
DeWine has consistently expressed caution about the rapid expansion of sports betting. In 2023, he signed a budget law doubling the sportsbook tax to 20% and criminalizing betting-related threats against athletes.
Earlier this year, a second tax increase proposal failed, but the governor has also voiced opposition to legal online casinos.
His latest statement leaves little doubt about his stance:
“The harm to athletes and the integrity of the game is clear, and the benefits are not worth the harm. The prop betting experiment in this country has failed badly. I call on the Casino Control Commission to correct this problem and remove all prop bets from the Ohio marketplace.”
DeWine also said he will ask the commissioners and players’ unions of MLB, NFL, NBA, WNBA, NHL, and MLS to support the initiative to protect league integrity.