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In a candid discussion this week, Ohio's Governor Mike DeWine revealed he is most regretful about legalizing sports betting in his state during his seven year term.
“People have asked me, ‘What mistakes did you make?’ And I’ll lead with signing a bill for sports gaming,” DeWine said Wednesday during a meeting with the editorial board for cleveland.com |The Plain Dealer.
“It’s a huge problem among young males up to 45. It’s a huge problem,” he added. “And we have many of them addicted, many of them spending money that they do not have.”
DeWine signed legislation in December 2021 that legalized sports gambling statewide starting in January 2023. Those in Ohio would go on to wager $7.7 billion on sports in 2023 alone.
But then came the controversies.
Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were both indicted in November 2025 for a sports betting conspiracy involving rigging in-game pitches for bribes. The complaint alleges that the two men provided insider information to certain sports bettors, causing over $400,000 in fraudulent, in-game prop bet winnings, with both pleading not guilty and facing federal charges.
A series of nationwide scandals involving college games forced DeWine's administration to put the kibosh on college sports player performance props.
DeWine revealed to the Plain Deailer that the state of Ohio has spent several million dollars helping residents who have problems with betting on sports.
“Frankly, when I signed the bill – I should’ve have, my fault, I take the blame – I didn’t count on the massive amount of advertising that these companies would do, first to get people to sign up for their app and to continue on," DeWine said.
“They now have it here,” the governor added, holding up his cell phone. “They got it right here. They don’t have to go to a casino. They don’t have to go anyplace – they got it right here."
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
