In first year of legal sports gambling in Ohio, more than $1 million in fines were collected

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Just over one year after sports betting became legal in Ohio, how are gaming companies holding up to state regulations?

Nearly all of sports betting has been online over the last year.

So did that first year bring a learning curve when it came to regulation?

19 Investigates reached out to the Ohio Casino Control Commission to find out.

We learned the regulatory agency issued more than $1.3 million in fines to gaming companies operating sports books in Ohio in 2023.

“Most of the fines involved, you know, advertising or promotions, and Ohio’s law and our rules in these areas are a little bit different than they are in other jurisdictions. And so many of these companies obviously operate, you know, in multiple jurisdictions all across the United States and so, you know, they just weren’t used to having to have very specific requirements met for Ohio,” said Jessica Franks, director of communications for the Ohio Casino Control Commission.

You may remember Caesars, DraftKings, and BetMGM faced violations in just the first few months of sports betting last year.

The Ohio Casino Control Commission found their advertisements lacked “the required responsible gambling messaging and/or claimed “free” or “risk-free” promotions or bonuses when patrons were required to incur a loss or risk their own money to obtain the promotion.”

Caesars and BetMGM each paid $150,000 in fines and DraftKings paid $500,000 to resolve two separate cases, including mailing advertisements to people under 21 years old.

We found the commission also took administrative action last year for three more gaming companies:

-PENN Sports Interactive faced a $250,000 fine for advertising on or targeting the area of, an Ohio college or university campus and targeting people under 21 years old, which is against state law.

-PlayUp Interactive faced a $90,000 fine for offering online gaming products to Ohioans in violation of state law.

-Hollywood Casino Columbus faced a $200,000 fine for, the commission said, a pattern of non-compliance with security staffing at the casino.

That sanction was casino-gaming related.

“So we have seen really improved compliance and that’s the goal here at the commission. Our goal is always compliance,” Franks said.

All of these cases were settled with the Ohio Casino Control Commission and the companies faced other remedial actions.

We’ll continue to watch how this year plays out when it comes to sports betting in Ohio.

If you think you may have a gambling problem or know someone who does you can reach out to the free problem gambling helpline at 1-800-589-9966 or through pausebeforeyouplay.org.