Online Casinos in Ohio

Have you always wanted to know which laws regulate gambling in Ohio and how many locals are involver in risky gambling behavior? Well, even if you haven’t, we still added this information to the post. A short reminder: if you are more into betting then reading, you can always skip this part and move straight to the SlotsUp list of international online casinos available for players from Ohio, or try playing the best online slots for fun with no registration right on this website.

Laws Affecting Online Gambling in Ohio

For a long time, Ohio was one of a few states that didn’t allow gambling on its territory, but everything changed when the casino licensing was authorized in 2009. It made gambling in the land-based casinos legal in the state which led to the construction of four casinos — this number hasn’t changed since then. A few years later, local authorities allowed to install video lottery terminals (which are basically the same as slot machines) at racinos. Thanks to this, betting became available not only for those living in large cities but also for the rest of Ohioans. All these activities are regulated by the Ohio Casino Control Commission
which managed to create quite comprehensive laws to exercise control over land-based betting but, unfortunately, did nothing for the Ohio online gambling laws to appear. So if you came here asking is online gambling legal in Ohio or not, the answer is — no one really knows. What we know is that players from Ohio can safely make bets in the overseas online casinos as it’s not prohibited by the local laws, even though not explicitly allowed.

Sports Betting in Ohio

If we tried to write this guide several months ago, we would say that sports betting in Ohio is illegal and the hope for the situation to change is rather foggy. But in May 2020, the Ohio House of Representatives passed the bill that would legalize betting on sports in the state. It’s not the final word yet but the chances for the law to be approved are quite high. If you are in Ohio and don’t want for all this red tape to finally come to an and, there are two possible options for you.

First of all, you can opt for the pari-mutuel betting which is perfectly legal on Ohio’s multiple racinos. Most of them also have some slots and keno machines installed so you can get wants and needs to meet in one place. The second option is to make your sports bets on the international websites — even though not all of them offer this kind of service to Ohioans, finding the one that does is possible, especially when you have online casino lists created by SlotsUp.

Interesting Facts About Online Gambling in Ohio

The one and only thing you need to know about Ohio online gambling to start making bets is that it’s not officially regulated but players are not banned from betting overseas so there is nothing to worry about. But it’s not the only thing to be said about gambling in Ohio in general so here is a couple of fun facts to think of while you are spinning the reels:

• There are more than 18000 of slot and video gaming machines located all over the state — both in casinos, racinos, and other venues.
• Around 8% of all the gamblers in Ohio are either at low or moderate risk of gambling addiction or already meet the criteria for problem gambling. This number is higher than the same one for the lottery and other kinds of gambling in Ohio.
• Unlike real sports betting, betting on fantasy sports is allowed in Ohio.

Getting Help for Problem Gambling in Ohio

All the reliable USA online casinos as well the international websites always have the Responsible Gaming page — and it’s no wonder as gambling addiction is a serious problem that is easier to prevent than to get rid of. Ohio authorities are also doing their best to promote responsible gambling in the state — there is the state-owned resource where you can find all the necessary information about the issue and get help if needed. To understand whether it’s time to blow the whistle, one can answer the questions of the special test created to diagnose gambling addiction. And it looks like the measures taken are rather effective as the percentage of problem gamblers in Ohio remains rather small.

Even though Ohio has plenty of options for land-based gambling, especially in large cities, online gambling in Ohio still remains a more convenient option for most of the players. Online casinos offer more games than all the brick-and-mortar casinos together, they give out bonuses and promotions, and you don’t need to go anywhere to make bets in an online casino which is a big plus in current situation. But if you can’t live without the sound of the real roulette spinning, here is the list of our favorite land-based casinos to visit in Ohio.

Hollywood Casino Columbus

Hollywood Casino in Columbus is the largest one out of four venues located in the state. It was opened at the end of 2012 and since then has welcomed thousands of visitors and paid out millions of dollars in winnings. Here, you can play more than 2000 of slots and 60 table games or make your bets at one of the 34 live poker tables. If you are a smoker, you’ll like the casino’s ventilated patio with climate control, a separate large bar, and more than 200 games to choose from. Hollywood Casino is the only place in Columbus where one can play video poker — there are all kinds of machines from the ones with penny-bets to the ones that will only accept a $100 bill as a bet. We are not sure whether it’s a good idea but the casino also offers a credit line for all the players with no fees or interest that you can pay out of your winning or by a personal check.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a good casino if gambling games were the only thing to do here. In Hollywood Casino, you can also have a nice meal in one of 6 restaurants (we recommend The Final Cut Steakhouse for a fine dinner and The Zen Noodle for a quick Asian-inspired bite) or attend a concert or a live show in the Event Center.

Hollywood Casino Toledo

The smaller counterpart of the Hollywood Casino Columbus, the Hollywood Casino Toledo has 125000 square feet of gaming space where 2000 slot machines and 59 table games are located, with 19 of them for live poker. Being a part of the chain, Hollywood Casino in Toledo offers pretty much the same services as the one in Columbus including the possible credit line for a player who suddenly ran out of money at the poker table and monthly casino promotions.

As for entertainment, there is no chance to get bored as the local Hollywood Casino is a popular venue for all kinds of events so whenever you come, there is a chance that a DJ or a live band is performing. Dining options include a steakhouse, an all-you-can-eat buffet, the Take 2 Grill cafe with burgers and pizzas, and a couple of bars.

JACK Cleveland Casino

Now let’s travel to Cleveland — the second largest city in Ohio and home to the JACK casino. On the 100,000 feet of gaming space, players will find 1300 slot machines with a separate high-limit area and around a hundred of table games, including poker. Every player visiting the Jack Casino in Cleveland can join the loyalty program called the ClubJack and get special offers to make every visit even more lucrative.

Even though the place has a couple of its own dining facilities, it also partners with the local restaurants to bring the favorite meals of Cleveland citizens to their one and only gambling space. In all the rest, JACK Cleveland is similar to any other casino you can find in Ohio with good cocktails and beer on the bar, loud concerts in the event zone, and crowds around the poker tables. By the way, the JACK is a 100% smoking-free area which is good news if you are non-smoker tired of coming back from a casino with your clothes reeking of tobacco.

Now when you read everything about the land-based gambling in the state, it’s time to finally try online gambling in Ohio and the only thing left to do is to pick a casino. As our Ohio casinos list is rather long and can be confusing for the beginners, we’ve picked out three websites to start with — these are the reputable brands with a nice choice of games and lucrative promotions.

• El Royale. El Royale is one of the best online casinos for the newbies thanks to its intuitive interface — there is nothing too extra so you don’t get overwhelmed but everything you need can be reached in one click. It’s also quite generous when it comes to promotions, starting from the 240% welcome bonus accompanied by at least 40 free spins and ending with the regular Game of the Month promotion that will let you try something new every month.
• Slotocash. We didn’t believe our eyes when we first saw the Slotocash bonus as it’s higher than anything we had seen before: you can get up to $7777 on your first five deposits with additional 300 free spins on top of this. The casino also offers quite a wide choice of banking options and all kinds of games — both instant-play and downloadable.
• Red Stag. Even though a welcome bonus here is lower than in the previous casino, it’s still decent — up to $2500 for your first deposit. There are also special offers for those playing on mobile and the loyalty program for returning players that allows you to collect bonus points for every bet you make and spend it on the future bets.