Governor Mike DeWine has been an outspoken critic of gambling in most of its forms, and he now wants to weigh in on yet another matter – the use of prop bets by Ohio’s sportsbooks.
According to Gov. DeWine, prop bets do not belong in regular betting markets as they create conditions for the exploitation of athletes and heighten the risk of abuse.
Gov. DeWine says it’s time for prop bets to go as a whole
To reinforce this view, Gov. DeWine said the Ohio Casino Control Commission, which regulates the sector, ought to consider banning prop bets, in the wake of two Cleveland Guardians pitchers who were benched as an investigation into betting offenses is still pending.
Gov. DeWine is similarly reaching out to all six major sports leagues in the country, including the MLB, NFL, MLS, NHL, NBA, and WNBA, to back his proposal and outlaw prop bets as a whole and entirely. He is of the mind that prop betting is already harmful to athletics, not just in Ohio, but across the nation.
"First, there were threats on Ohio athletes, and now two high-profile Ohio professional athletes have been suspended by Major League Baseball as part of a sports betting investigation," he said.
Gov. DeWine argues that the risks are too great, and the possible trade-off in terms of tax windfall is not nearly enough to offset these outlined negative trends, he adds.
"I call on the Casino Control Commission to correct this problem and remove all prop bets from the Ohio marketplace," DeWine said in his address to the regulator. Gov. DeWine has a right to be worried.
The NCAA has long cautioned that there is an increased chance of student-athlete abuse tied to sports betting, with prop betting leading the way. This includes threats to basketball players from the University of Dayton’s basketball teams, which first brought the matter to Gov. DeWine’s radar in 2023.
Collegiate props are gone as they should be – why not professional sports’ ones as well?
Finally, in February 2024, the regulator banned collegiate prop bets, but this is not enough, as prop bets continue to inflict harm on regular sports contests, according to the governor’s office, which wants to serve as a catalyst for supplanting this betting market from across the country entirely.
However, in the absence of one of – if not the most – popular markets, it’s possible for non-betting companies, such as prediction market platforms, to capitalize and attract more of sportsbooks’ traditional customer base with dubious consequences for protecting sports.
