Gov. Mike DeWine is taking on the old adage that “you can’t fix stupid.” All Ohioans will benefit if state legislators approve Mr. DeWine’s proposed reforms to the new sports-betting law and fix the foolish mistake they made when the law was enacted.
Governor DeWine’s proposed budget calls for doubling the tax on sports books to 20 percent of net revenue. The average state tax on sports betting is 19 percent and Ohio is a sports-crazed jurisdiction that gambling interests ardently pursued. There was no need for lawmakers to set the tax rate so low to encourage interest in the Ohio market.
