The American Gaming Association takes exception to The Blade Editorial Board support for doubling the Ohio tax rate on sports betting (“The higher the better,” Feb. 14) as a misrepresentation of the facts.
The AGA and The Blade agree that Ohio is one of the largest sports-betting markets in the country. As we pointed out…Ohio’s sports betting volume in January was second only to New York. But unlike New York, where 51 percent of the gambling profit is consumed by state taxes, Ohio takes in a measly 10 percent.
The AGA would have us believe that raising the tax to 20 percent as Gov. Mike DeWine proposes would drive gamblers into unregulated, untaxed, illegal betting.
