Legal Gambling Age In Ohio The legal age that a person must be in order to legally gamble in the state of Ohio is 21. The authorities in Ohio do not look kindly upon any sort of underage gambling, and it is a criminal offense to collect any winnings whilst underage. Legal Online Gambling In Ohio. Ohio Law Welcome to the Ohio Law section of FindLaw's State Law collection. This section contains user-friendly summaries of Ohio laws as well as citations or links to relevant sections of Ohio's official online statutes. Please select a topic from the list below to get started. 2915.01 Gambling definitions. As used in this chapter: (A) 'Bookmaking' means the business of receiving or paying off bets. (B) 'Bet' means the hazarding of anything of value upon the result of an event, undertaking, or contingency, but does not include a bona fide business risk. (C) 'Scheme of chance' means a slot machine unless authorized under Chapter 3772. Of the Revised Code, lottery unless. The Ohio Attorney General’s Charitable Law Section regulates bingo throughout the state and licenses eligible nonprofit organizations. It also licenses bingo manufacturers and distributors. Bingo requirements are outlined in Ohio Revised Code (ORC) Section 2915 and chapters of the Ohio Administrative Code. The Ohio Lottery Commission was created in 1973 and today, offers numerous instant and online games that customers can play across the state at licensed retailer locations. Charitable Gaming From bingo to raffles and games of chance, the profits from these typical activities solely benefit charities.

• Ohio Gambling Laws For A 501c3 Charity
• Is It Legal To Gamble In Ohio
• Ohio Online Sports Gambling Laws

Ohioans now have some of the richest variety of land-based poker options in the US, but thousands and thousands of poker players from Ohio are still choosing to play their poker online. It’s fast, it’s easy and it beats a drive through traffic and a multi-hour wait list at the casino poker room.

Despite the popularity of the game, a number of potential online poker players in Ohio still have questions about playing poker for real money online, and it’s our goal with this Guide to Ohio Online Poker to answer those questions – and provide a richer picture of poker in Ohio along the way.

Most Recent Online Poker Happenings in Ohio

There has been no talk of legalizing online poker in Ohio.

Oddly enough, many of Ohio’s neighboring states have either proposed bills or officially legalized online poker and casino games. Pennsylvania legalized online gaming in 2017 and launched its first poker and casino sites in 2019. West Virginia legalized online gaming in 2019 and plans to launch sites by 2021. Kentucky and Michigan have both discussed online poker in their respective legislatures.

Ohio, on the other hand, has yet to propose it.

Land-based casinos have been legal since 2012, and daily fantasy sports was legalized in 2017.

The Ohio Lottery is in the process of constructing a proposal to officially put its lottery ticket offerings online. And many lawmakers want legal sports betting, though it is likely to be in brick-and-mortar sportsbooks and not online.

There have been several sports betting bills introduced to the legislature in the past year. One would put the Ohio Lottery Commission in control of the industry and give oversight to the Ohio Casino Commission, but the other would give all control to the Ohio Casino Commission. Even Governor Mike DeWine is supportive of sports betting in general, but the delay seems to be with the agency that would control it.

The Basics of Online Poker and Ohio

You like the action of poker, but you hate the drudgery of getting to the casino. Now you’re ready to try online poker, but searching for Ohio-friendly poker sites just returns a bunch of noise and third-rate websites – until you find our guide. It’s updated. It’s objective. It’s built on the observations of several actual online poker players, players who want the same things out of an online poker room that you do.

Based on those observations and that experience, we’ve built this list of the top Ohio online poker sites for real money.

Can Players From Ohio Play Poker?

If you’re residing in Ohio and hoping to play real-money online poker, you’re in luck. There are several sites that accept players from Ohio.

Whether you start with a site from our list of the top Ohio online poker rooms above or choose one of the other options for Ohioans, you’ll be looking at a simple process that will have you battling it out with other players from around the world in under an hour.

All Poker and Gambling Laws by State

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Is Playing Online Poker Legal in Ohio?

We’re not lawyers, nor are we qualified to offer legal advice. Our solitary goal with this section is to communicate the absolute basics of Ohio gambling law and to encourage you to then review the Ohio statutes yourself (online version can be found below).

Ohio Gambling Laws For A 501c3 Charity

After doing so, you’ll realize what many others have already learned: Ohio gambling law is complicated and involves a good deal of information beyond the statutes to fully comprehend. That’s why we always encourage players with questions about the legality of online poker to consult with a lawyer for authoritative answers.
Let’s walk through some of the basic points of Ohio gambling law:

Unlike most states, Ohio does not offer a formal definition of gambling. Instead, we can arrive at their working definition by looking at the misdemeanor charge of gambling (Section 2915.02), which covers bookmaking, promoting games of chance, exchanging information that facilitates bookmaking or games of chance and engaging in “any scheme or game of chance as a substantial source of income or livelihood” (Section 2915.02(4)).

That last part is important. Ohio law is specifically constructed to dole out heavier punishments to those who gamble for a living. Note that taking part in an illegal poker game would not necessarily be illegal in and of itself; players must draw a “substantial source of income” from the activity to trigger the charge detailed above.

Players who don’t meet that standard could still face some criminal exposure under Ohio law, but it’s a bit of a longshot. For example, Section 2915.04 makes it a crime (misdemeanor) to play games of chance in public places like resorts and halls.

On to “games of chance,” which are defined very specifically under Ohio law:

“Poker, craps, roulette, or other game in which a player gives anything of value in the hope of gain, the outcome of which is determined largely by chance, but does not include bingo” (Section 2915.01(D)).

Is It Legal To Gamble In Ohio

Famous Ohio Poker Players

There are some live poker rooms in Ohio, namely in Toledo, Columbus, and Northfield. There are few large live tournament series that play in those casinos, but the poker rooms do provide a breeding ground for new players.

Many players in Ohio also got their start playing online poker. David Peters is one of them, who is now a high-stakes live poker player who is the sixth winningest player in the world with more than $33.4 million in live winnings.

Byron Kaverman certainly got his start in poker in home games with friends and in the poker rooms in Ohio, and he has gone on to win more than $15 million in his career. He spent years honing his game online and was one of the launching pads for him and many others in his generation of players.

David “Chip” Reese hailed from Ohio. His live poker winnings totaled nearly $4 million before his untimely death in 2007. He is one of the most respected players in the game’s history, known mostly for his fierce cash game play.

As of 2021, the top-ranked live poker players in Ohio history were listed as:

1. David Peters ($33.4 million)
2. Byron Kaverman ($15.1 million)
3. Keven Stammen ($6.1 million)
4. Jacob Bazeley ($4.5 million)
5. David Reese ($4 million)
6. Joe Ebanks ($3.3 million)
7. Adam Friedman ($3.1 million)
8. Shawn Cunix ($2.3 million)
9. Joseph Couden ($2.3 million)
10. Samuel Phillips ($2.2 million)

Ohio Gambling Overview

List of Regulated Gambling Options in Ohio

The sole major form of regulated gambling not on the menu in Ohio is tribal gambling. Otherwise, you can run the gamut in the state – play the lottery, get in a few pari-mutuel bets on races, engage in any of the multiple forms of charitable gambling that get the official state nod or spend a night at Ohio’s brand-spanking new commercial casinos.

List of Regulated Online Gambling Options in Ohio

While Ohio has a bountiful assortment of regulated land-based gambling, the state offers exactly zero regulated online gambling options. This doesn’t necessarily disqualify all forms of online betting from existing legally in Ohio – it just means there’s no such thing as an online poker room or casino licensed or regulated by the state.

Sources & Citations For This Article on Ohio Online Poker

Ohio Online Sports Gambling Laws