- Ohio governor Mike DeWine regrets signing the law that brought legal sports betting to Ohio.
- DeWine has been vocal against prop betting at both the collegiate and professional level, but now opposes the entirety of sports betting.
- Ohio witnessed betting scandals with Cleveland Guardian pitchers, the Alabama baseball head coach, the harassment of former Cavaliers coach by sports bettors, and more incidents.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Less than three years after authorizing legal sports betting in Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine has his regrets. Numerous legal sports betting scandals, especially in Ohio, have worn down DeWine to the point that he said “Ohio shouldn’t have done it.”
“Look, we’ve always had gambling, we’re always going to have gambling,” DeWine told the AP last week. “But just the power of these companies and the deep, deep, deep pockets they have to advertise and do everything they can to get someone to place that bet is really different once you have legalization of them.”
The comments come after two Cleveland Guardians pitchers, Emanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, were indicted in early November as a part of the MLB gambling investigation surrounding the pitchers accepting bribes to throw poor first pitches. DeWine implemented prop bet limits of $200 on individual pitches just a day after the two accused pitchers were indicted.
Sports betting integrity issues go all the way back to 2023 with the Alabama baseball betting scandal, where the Ohio Casino Control Commission flagged unusual betting activity at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The suspiciously large wager placed on a random college baseball game was allegedly due to insider information that resulted in the firing of head coach Brad Bohannon.
DeWine Strongly Opposes Prop Betting
Seemingly since the beginning of legal Ohio sports betting, Mike DeWine has wished to eliminate prop betting. It started with a nationwide concern over college player props in 2024. DeWine responded with the Ohio college prop ban at the request of NCAA president Charlie Baker.
DeWine followed by proposing a nationwide ban of prop bets for professional and collegiate sports. In his call for a prop ban, he cited threats to athletes and the integrity of the game.
The former portion was seen with former Cleveland Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff reporting threats from local sports bettors. With the negative portion of legal sports betting being exposed so frequently in Ohio, it’s unsurprising that Gov. DeWine has his regrets.
