Governor Mike DeWine’s budget proposal includes doubling the prevailing tax rate on Ohio sportsbooks, but recent reports suggest that it is unlikely to pass muster with his fellow lawmakers and will not be included in the budget.
Tax Increase Averted
It is still too early to guarantee that Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s proposed tax hikes from 20% to 40% on sportsbooks’ revenues will not be approved by his colleagues. However, according to the House Finance Committee chairman, Representative Brian Stewart, tax increases on sports betting operators as well as cigarettes and marijuana are likely to be eliminated in the House.
“Day 1, I don’t think anything’s dead on arrival,” Stewart said on Thursday, per the Statehouse News Bureau. “But I do think that any time you’re talking about tax increases in a Republican Party, that’s going to get a skeptical eyebrow raise.”
DeWine already doubled taxes on sportsbooks just months after they launched. The initial rate on adjusted gross revenue was 10%, but that soared to 20% due to DeWine’s wishes. Many in the House and Senate were not on board with the increase but held their noses and accepted it. “We just had a massive increase in this tax last budget cycle from 10% to 20%, and we’re still realizing what that actually means to the industry,” said St. Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney of Cleveland. “I think we have a lot more due diligence to do.”
Fund the Dome
The taxes generated from sportsbook revenue would largely be going toward funding a domed stadium for the Cleveland Browns, according to the governor.
“Look, Ohio citizens are giving every single day millions of dollars to sports gaming companies. It’s time for us to raise the tax on them so that we can do things to help Ohioans,” DeWine said. “These are the companies that are taking all of this money outside, draining it outside of the state of Ohio on gaming. They ought to pay their fair share, and this would make them pay their fair share.”
The creation of the Sports Facilities Construction and Sports Education Fund is DeWine’s pet project, and it would assist in financing up to 40% of a football stadium with the Cleveland Browns paying the remainder. DeWine and many others want to ensure that the Browns remain in Cleveland, which is why funding a state-of-the-art domed stadium has been made a priority for his administration.
