While there are poker sites that accept players from the Buckeye State, the bottom line is that Ohio doesn’t officially recognize online poker. Not only does the state not license or regulate poker sites, it prohibits state gaming regulators from doing so.
Ohio laws don’t prohibit poker games within its borders. Players can find games at social clubs and casinos, online at sweepstakes-based sites, and with poker operators based and licensed offshore. If only Ohio would legalize state-licensed online poker, like neighboring Michigan and Pennsylvania, it would benefit from licensing fees and taxes, and players would know more about the sites on which they play.
Ohioans have a notable variety of land-based poker options, from social poker clubs to big-named casinos from the likes of Hard Rock and Hollywood Casino. As is the case in so many states, though, thousands upon thousands of poker players prefer to play online. It’s fast, safe, and convenient. Online poker doesn’t require a long drive or hours of wait time to get a seat in a game. In fact, it doesn’t have a dress code and doesn’t charge for food and drink.
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Ignition is a popular option for players in the United States. They offer most popular cash game variants and more than $1.5 million in weekly online poker tournament guarantees. Ignition also offers Zone Poker, similar to Zoom Poker where you’re moved to a new table and dealt a new hand every time you fold.
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Bovada is one of the most well-established online poker sites servicing America. Offering anonymous tables and designed for all platforms, including mobile, it feels like you’re playing in Las Vegas.
Recent Online Poker Developments in Ohio
There has been no substantial discussion of legalizing online poker in Ohio.
Poker is important to players in Ohio, and casinos in the state would benefit from partnering with online poker operators to expand their customer base. Casino operators have seen the positive relationships grow between igaming and land-based facilities, especially during the pandemic when casinos were closed for months on end. States with licensed igaming brought in millions of dollars in revenue during the lockdowns.
Many analysts put Ohio on lists of states with igaming potential merely due to its proximity to states with regulated online gambling.
- Michigan to the north legalized online poker and casinos in 2019.
- Pennsylvania to the east legalized online poker and casino games in 2017.
- West Virginia to the southeast legalized online gaming in 2019, though operators have yet to obtain licenses or launch poker sites to accompany their online casinos.
- Kentucky to the southwest has considered numerous igaming bills, though the legislature has yet to pass one.
- Indiana to the west has been examining online gaming and is likely to legalize igaming in 2024 or 2025.
Despite its neighbors expanding their gambling industries to the online realm, Ohio lawmakers have yet to follow suit.
Legislators did feel comfortable launching sports betting – both live and online – in 2021. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed the bill before the end of 2021. And the first online sportsbooks launched on the first day of 2023. The companies that invested in the industry benefited to the tune of $779M in revenue in just the first ten months of 2023. And sports betting operators paid more than $102M in taxes.
As 2024 got underway, Ohio oversaw licenses for 19 sports betting websites, including Caesars (which operates online poker in other states under WSOP.com) and BetMGM (which runs online poker in other states). This creates a solid foundation for those operators to add other online games into the mix, if the legislature allows it.
Current Ohio Poker Laws
The gambling laws in Ohio are fairly straightforward. The definition of gambling includes all games of chance conducted for profit and players engaging in betting on or playing games of chance “as a substantial source of income or livelihood.”
To further solidify the meaning of games of chance, the law specifies that they include “poker, craps, roulette, or other game in which a player gives anything of value in the hope of game.”
The law provides no exemption to gambling prohibitions for online games, except the lottery and sports betting.
Ohioans were behind the movement to legalize land-based casinos in the state in 2009. The ballot measure in November 2009 allows voters to decide to pass or deny a constitutional amendment that would allow gaming facilities in the cities of Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo. In the end, the vote tally showed 52% of them supported the amendment.
Poker is legal in those casinos. Players find live poker rooms at JACK Casino in Cleveland, Hollywood Casinos in Columbus and Toledo, and Hard Rock Casino in Cincinnati. There are also about a dozen charity bars and “casino” facilities that run poker games with profits going to designated charities, all legal under current Ohio law.
Ohio Gambling & Poker Laws Summarized
| Type/Code | Summary |
|---|---|
| State Code Section(s) | 2915; 3763; 3769-3670; 3772; 3774 |
| Definition of Game of Chance | 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. |
| Definition of Gambling Device | A book, totalizer, or other equipment for recording bets; a ticket, token, or other device representing a chance, share, or interest in a scheme of chance or evidencing a bet; a deck of cards, dice, gaming table, roulette wheel, slot machine, or other apparatus designed for use in connection with a game of chance; any equipment, device, apparatus, or paraphernalia specially designed for gambling purposes. |
| Definition of Gambling Prohibited | Establish, promote, or operate or knowingly engage in conduct that facilitates any game of chance conducted for profit or any scheme of chance; knowingly procure, transmit, exchange, or engage in conduct that facilitates the procurement, transmission, or exchange of information for use in establishing odds or determining winners in connection with bookmaking or with any game of chance conducted for profit or any scheme of chance; engage in betting or in playing any scheme or game of chance as a substantial source of income or livelihood. |
| Online Poker/Gambling | There have been no solid efforts to legalize and regulate online poker or other types of internet gaming. |
| Live Poker | Poker rooms are available in the large casinos throughout Ohio, each with cash games and tournaments. |
| Casinos | The Casino Control Act of 2009 legalized casinos in four major cities, and the first one opened in 2012. The law also allowed racetracks to upgrade to racinos by installing video gambling machines in order to compete with the new casinos, though they do not offer table games like poker. |
| Sports Betting | A bill to legalize live and online sports betting passed in December 2021, and Governor DeWine signed it. Nearly 20 sportsbooks operated online by the start of 2024. |
| DFS | Ohio lawmakers legalized daily fantasy sports in late 2017. |
| Other Forms of Gambling | Horse racing and on-track pari-mutuel betting, bingo and games of chance for charitable organizations, lottery, social gambling. |
The Basics of Online Poker and Ohio
The state does not recognize online poker sites, as the Ohio Casino Control Commission does not have the legal authority to license and regulate online poker or casino sites.
Players in the state have found two primary ways to play online. For those not near a live casino or card club, and for the people who would rather play online for any number of reasons, there are some sites that cater to them, like sweepstakes-based and membership-based poker sites.
More popular, though, are online poker sites like Ignition Poker and BetOnline Poker. The sites are licensed by gaming regulators outside of the United States, and they offer cash games and poker tournaments to players around the United States. Ohio poker players are included in that customer base, and many of them have been playing at sites like Ignition and BetOnline for years, some even a decade or more.
Our analysts and site reviewers are not lawyers, which means they cannot give online poker and gambling advice. Therefore, the suggestions of BetOnline and Ignition, among others, are simply options that do cater to players in Ohio.
Players from Ohio have competed online at one point or another throughout their careers as pros or semi-pros. David Peters, who is the top-ranked poker player from Ohio, had earned more than $30M in live tournaments alone by the end of 2023, but he spent years grinding poker online before he made so much money at the live tables. Other prominent Ohio natives also got their starts online, such as Keven Stammen and Byron Kaverman.
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. These 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 2023, 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 in the News
Ohio Online Poker and Gambling Information
Ohio Casino Control Commission: This primary site for the state’s gambling regulator outlines the laws and licenses casinos to operate in Ohio.
Charitable Ohio: Ohio’s Attorney General details charitable gambling laws and explains the registration process for facilities that want to operate charity-based poker rooms and social clubs.
OH! Lottery: The Ohio Lottery is charged with video lottery terminals, keno, and sports gambling, per links at the bottom of the home page.
Ohio Legislature: It is a resource for all legislature-related activities, as well as details about the Ohio Constitution, Revised Code, and Administrative Code. It contains House and Senate directories and all proposed and approved legislation.
Problem Gambling Network of Ohio: This is a full list of resources for problem gambling, including training, treatment, and mental health.
Jennifer Newell
