Ohio – Online Casinos & Gambling Regulations

Find the Best American Casino Online

While online casinos remain restricted in the state of Ohio, residents are still able to access overseas operations who are licensed in jurisdictions abroad. As the government is unable to block access to all of these sites, individuals are still able to access them despite the legalities involved. This does incur an increase in risk though, as unregulated or restricted markets tend to attract more black market operations due to the lack of oversight and legal recourse protecting players. That is why it is important to remain extra vigilant and ensure that you are prepared enough to make an informed decision before committing any of your personal information or payment details to a site.

• Is the casino licensed?
• What is the reputation of the licensing body?
• What do reviews say about the site?
• Will you be eligible for promotions or a loyalty program?
• Will you be able to use your preferred payment methods?

Going through a mental checklist and examining a site can be a great way of minimizing risk while shopping for the best value. This can however be rather time-consuming and it is often easier leaving it in the hands of a trusted source. That’s why you can rely on GoodLuckMate to provide you with up to date and unbiased articles and reviews.

Gambling Regulation

Land-based casinos were authorized to operate within the state from 2009. Pari-mutuel wagering and Daily Fantasy Sports are also permitted activities, which is very common across the country even in the stricter states. Legalized sports betting has also become more and more prominent across the US, unfortunately, Ohio hasn’t quite managed to get there yet. There have however been efforts made to open up the possibility of creating sports betting legislation with the main motivation being an increase in tax revenues. One of the main roadblocks is deciding on whether it should be the state’s Lottery or Casino Commission that takes over responsibilities for the sports side. There has been quite a trend over the past decade for more and more states to set up a regulated sports betting market, even branching into online services. Online casinos remain in the dark though and there appears to be no activity to give any hope that changes will be coming soon.

Localized Online Casinos

Most online casino standards already align with localization features for the US. English is the default language of the industry and there are usually several different US dollar payment options available. The availability of localized features for US players has only increased as more and more states have opened up their gambling regulations. Ohio’s proximity to the regulated market of Pennsylvania may allow for more localized content for residents of the Buckeye State. However, localization options will for the most part be more generalized for the whole country rather than specific states. You can therefore expect full coverage of big US events like the Superbowl and the NBA. So, despite the restrictive regulations covering most of the country, online casinos still operate in a very US friendly fashion.

Gambling with US Dollars

US dollars are incredibly prevalent across the online casino industry. Despite a relatively small portion of them offering any of their services to US players, most sites have still adopted the currency as a default option. This means that players whose local currency is not accepted can instead use US dollars to play with instead. Essentially, you will be hard-pressed to find an online casino that doesn’t let you deposit and play with dollars. Payment options are also provided to facilitate the currency, including payment cards, E-wallets and bank transfer options. E-wallets are particularly popular with players, as they allow for quick and easy transactions online without the need to directly involve the bank. Cryptocurrencies have also taken off in a big way recently, primarily for the same reasons.

Casinos in Ohio

Ohio now has a number of land-based casinos and racetracks that add up to tens of thousands of gambling machines around the state. Despite this, it appears that gambling revenues are declining in many of the main venues, which has been claimed to be a result of oversaturation in the market. It certainly doesn’t help either that neighboring states like Pennsylvania provide a more liberal outlook on all forms of gambling activities, doubtlessly drawing lots of Ohio players away from more local venues. 

The several racetracks that also offer up gambling machines are also said to have been cutting into the success of the traditional casino establishments. The light of the end of the tunnel comes in the form of sports betting, which is hoped to be regulated in the near future. There have been instances of states giving preferred rights to local land-based casinos after opening up their sports betting market. This could be a solution for Ohio’s venues, but it remains undeniable that a lot of business and tax revenues are continuously lost as long as online casino restrictions persist.