Ohio is moving toward a ban on credit cards for sports betting

The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) is working on a rule that would bar customers from using credit cards at sportsbooks. For high-risk operators and PSPs, the interesting part is not the policy debate; it is the mechanics of how a state regulator can push a payment method out of a regulated gambling channel.

1. The OCCC confirmed last Thursday that it is drafting a regulation to prohibit credit card use for sports betting in Ohio. The rule is not final yet. Before it can take effect, it must clear two state review steps: the Common Sense Initiative and the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review.
2. The proposal has support from problem-gambling advocates. Derek Longmeier, executive director of the Ohio Problem Gambling Network, said in an interview on Monday that spending control is already hard in a market with more than a dozen online sportsbooks in Ohio. His point is simple: using only available funds is one of the basic low-risk betting rules, and credit cards break that rule by letting customers spend money they do not have.
3. Ohio lawmakers already floated broader sports-betting reforms earlier this year. Conservative legislators introduced bills that would have rewritten parts of Ohio’s sports-betting law, with backing from mental health advocates and religious organizations. Those bills also included a credit card ban, but they do not appear likely to move in the current legislature.
4. The state legalized sports betting in 2021, with only 14 of the 132 legislators voting against it. Governor Mike DeWine has since said signing that law was his biggest mistake. A spokesperson for the governor declined to comment on the OCCC’s new rule.
5. The concern predates legalization. A 2022 survey found that one in five Ohio residents could be considered at least a risky gambler. After legal betting launched, calls to the state’s gambling addiction helpline rose significantly during 2023, according to data collected that year.

If Ohio adopts the rule, it would join a small group of states that already prohibit credit cards for betting. Illinois and Tennessee are among the six states that currently keep that restriction in place.