Gov. Mike DeWine’s budget proposal to double Ohio’s tax on sports betting companies’ revenue to fund sports stadium projects – like a proposed new Cleveland Browns stadium – received a skeptical, though not completely hostile, reaction from state lawmakers on Tuesday.
The plan, unveiled by DeWine on Monday, would raise the state’s tax on sports gambling companies’ gross Ohio revenues from 20% to 40%. It would be the second time the tax has doubled since sports gambling became legal in Ohio in 2023.
That would generate an estimated $288 million more over the next two fiscal years for stadium projects and youth sports, according to DeWine’s budget plan. However, state budget director Kim Murnieks said estimate was “conservative,” given Ohio projects to take in nearly $210 million from sports-gambling taxes this fiscal year.
