House Does Not Concur With Senate-Approved Ohio Budget Sports Betting Tax Hike

• A Senate-approved Ohio budget for fiscal year 2023-2024 includes an increase to the state’s sports betting tax rate
• Gov. Mike DeWine suggested increasing the sports betting tax rate to 20% in February, but the measure did not gain traction
• The House of Representatives did not concur with the Senate amendments to the budget

An Ohio Senate-approved budget for fiscal year 2023-2024, which includes an increase to the Ohio sports betting tax rate, was not agreed upon by the House of Representatives this afternoon.

A conference committee will be needed to work through the differences of the massive $85.8 billion budget for the Buckeye State. The bill, HB 33, will have to be signed by June 30 if the budget changes want to get into effect by the start of the next fiscal year on July 1.

Ohio sports betting launched at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2023.

Ohio Sports Betting Tax Hike Small Part of Budget

In April, the Ohio House of Representatives approved their own version of the budget that did not include Gov. Mike DeWine’s (R) suggested sports betting tax rate increase to 20% from its current 10%. DeWine suggested the increase in his proposed budget in February, just one month after sports betting launched in the state. No state has ever publicly considered legislation to increase its sports betting tax rate so early after launch.

The Senate, however, amended the House budget last week and passed the document to include the 20% sports betting tax rate. The Senate approved the budget on Thursday, June 15, by a 24-7 vote, but did not specifically comment on the sports betting tax increase during floor debate.

The House of Representatives voted by a 3-1 margin this afternoon to not concur with the Senate-amended budget.

While the sports betting tax increase could have some large impacts on the state’s sports betting market, the 10% increase is peanuts in a proposed $85.8 billion state budget. The Senate also did not include a provision that would allow Ohio’s three most populous counties to house up to seven brick-and-mortar sportsbooks, up from five in the current sports betting law.

More Than $44 Million in Taxes Through April

Ohio’s sports betting market has been booming since its January launch. Through its first four months Ohio has generated more than $449.2 million in taxable revenue, which translated to more than $44.9 million in tax revenue at its current 10% sports betting tax rate.

At a 20% tax rate, that figure would have doubled to $89.8 million in taxes for Ohio.