Ohio players could eventually get legal online casinos, but a proposal being discussed by lawmakers may leave one familiar feature behind: bonuses that can actually be used online.
Online Bonuses Could Come With a Road Trip
Ohio Representative Brian Stewart has floated a model that would stop licensed online casinos from handing out promotional credits for internet play. Operators could still offer bonuses, but those credits would instead be redeemable at one of the state’s physical casinos or racinos.
A conventional online casino welcome offer might give a new customer bonus funds or free spins that can be used immediately from a phone or computer. Under Stewart’s idea, an operator could still advertise a promotional reward, but collecting the value might require a visit to a brick-and-mortar property.
That would make Ohio’s market look very different from established iGaming states where online operators regularly use deposit matches, bonus bets and other digital promotions to compete for customers.
Stewart explained the concept during an iDevelopment and Economic Association panel, saying online promotional credits could be restricted while promotional value tied to a land-based casino would remain possible.
Why Ohio Is Considering the Retail Link
The proposal is connected to House Bill 298, introduced by Stewart and Representative Marilyn John. The bill would legalize and regulate online casino gambling while also banning online sweepstakes games.
Stewart has argued that tying iGaming more closely to existing casinos and racinos could reduce opposition from businesses that already operate physical gaming venues in Ohio.
His wider proposal would limit access to iGaming licenses to companies connected with the state’s 11 casinos and racinos. That could give existing operators such as Caesars, Hard Rock and PENN Entertainment a direct route into online casino gaming while restricting standalone digital brands unless they secure the required local relationship.
The concern is partly rooted in Ohio’s experience with sports betting. Online wagering launched on January 1, 2023, and national operators with large marketing budgets quickly competed for customers through promotions and established player databases. Stewart has said smaller Ohio gaming businesses may struggle to match that sort of spending.
Ohio Already Regulates Gambling Promotions Closely
Bonuses are hardly the Wild West in Ohio today.
Licensed sportsbooks are allowed to offer promotions, but state rules require clear terms covering eligibility, expiration dates, wagering requirements and withdrawal conditions. Ohio also prohibits operators from describing an offer as “free” or “risk-free” when customers must risk their own money to receive the advertised benefit.
Brick-and-mortar casinos can also issue promotional gaming credits, with Ohio regulations requiring operators to disclose redemption conditions and track promotional coupons.
An iGaming bonus ban would therefore not amount to Ohio suddenly discovering casino promotions. It would be a deliberate decision to treat online casino incentives differently from both sportsbook offers and conventional casino comps.
HB 298 Is Still Far From the Finish Line
Players should not start planning which casino lobby they will visit to redeem their online bonus just yet.
HB 298 was introduced in May 2025 and remains in the Ohio House Finance Committee. The Ohio Legislature currently lists it only as “As Introduced,” with no House floor vote recorded.
Its existing text calls for a 28% tax on internet gambling receipts and a $50 million initial operator license fee, followed by a $10 million renewal fee. The Ohio Legislative Service Commission has estimated that legalization could bring hundreds of millions of dollars per year into the state’s General Revenue Fund. One percent of net iGaming revenue would be allocated to the Problem Gaming Fund.
There is one obvious wrinkle: the introduced bill told regulators to launch iGaming no later than March 31, 2026. That date has already passed while the legislation remains pending, meaning the timeline would need to be revised if lawmakers eventually move the measure forward.
Ohio Has More Than One iGaming Proposal
HB 298 is not the only online gambling legislation sitting in Columbus.
Senate Bill 197, sponsored by Senator Nathan Manning, would also legalize internet gambling. Its scope goes further by addressing areas including internet lottery gaming and online horse-race wagering. Like HB 298, the Senate proposal remains in committee and has not passed its chamber.
That gives lawmakers more than one framework to work from if interest in regulated iGaming picks up again.
For Ohio casino players, though, the bonus question may prove just as important as tax rates and license counts. Legal online blackjack or slots would bring casino gambling onto phones and laptops, but a system that sends promotional dollars back to physical properties would remove one of the biggest weapons online casinos normally use to win new customers.
Ohio could end up legalizing iGaming while telling operators that the casino can be online, but the freebie still requires leaving the couch.
