Mike DeWine, the Governor of Ohio, has made it clear that he regrets his decision to vote for the legalization of sports betting in Ohio back in 2021. His statements expressing his regret seem to come after two members of the Cleveland Guardians and a guard for the Miami Heat were caught in separate sports betting scandals.
Mike DeWine provided the following statement to The Associated Press regarding online sports betting: “Look, we’ve always had gambling, we’re always going to have gambling,” he continues, “But just the power of these companies and the deep, deep, deep pockets they have to advertise and do everything they can to get someone to place that bet is really different once you have legalization of them.”
Sports betting has been sweeping across the United States like a highly infectious disease. It has become increasingly difficult to ignore the sports betting scene since it has spent millions on advertisements. I have felt the increase in sports betting advertising myself. Despite never watching any sports-related content, I am constantly spammed with advertisements for sites like DraftKings featuring influential actors like Kevin Hart.
In addition to their mass advertising campaigns, sports betting has been a controversial topic due to how frequent investigations pop up concerning athletes potentially rigging games for profit. Controversies have been appearing across the United States, with dozens of professional athletes under investigation for alleged rigging of games.
In its current stage, it is not a safe bet to join the sports betting scene, and Gov. DeWine regrets allowing this unstable system to be legalized in Ohio. He has already taken steps to mitigate some of the damage it has caused, with him calling for a law or policy that prevents micro-betting and placing a limit on baseball-related bets.
