The Study Commission on the Future of Gaming in Ohio would be established under the latest version of biennial budget bill, HB33 (Edwards).

The language creating the new commission was one of several changes made in an omnibus amendment accepted by the House Finance Committee on Tuesday. (See separate story, this issue.)

House Finance Committee Chair Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville) said he personally pushed for the language converting the Joint Committee on Sports Gaming into the 11-member Study Commission on the Future of Gaming in Ohio, consisting of four lawmakers from each chamber and state regulators overseeing casinos, lottery and horse racing. He said he foresees it looking both at the regulatory structure and the forms of gambling offered in Ohio.

“We’re hearing a lot about i-Lottery. There’s some members that want it, there’s some members that don’t. However, I think there’s lack of understanding of what that actually would mean. We’re hearing a lot about i-gaming and i-casinos. We need to study this before we just go. And we may be looking for additional revenue sources the next two years,” Edwards said.

The study commission would also look at the future of horse racing in Ohio. The omnibus amendment removed a provision in the sub bill that would have allowed sports gaming proprietors to accept wagers on horse racing other than the parimutuel wagers on horse races regulated by the Ohio State Racing Commission (OSRC).

Under current law, sports betting companies are legally prohibited from offering straight bets on horse races like the Kentucky Derby. However, Ohioans can place parimutuel bets on Ohio horse races and out-of-state horse races like the Kentucky Derby at racinos, OSRC Executive Director Chris Dragone told Hannah News.

Another provision in the omnibus amendment would increase -- from five to seven -- the number of type B brick-and-mortar sports betting facilities that can be opened in counties with populations higher than 800,000. This would apply to Cuyahoga, Franklin and Hamilton counties, Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) spokesperson Jessica Franks told Hannah News. So far, the only county that has produced more applications than allowable licenses is Cuyahoga County, Franks said.

Edwards and Franks both noted that the statewide number of allowable type B licenses was not increased, and remains at 40.