Sports Betting Legal for 21 and Older in Ohio

 As of January 2023, sports betting is legal in Ohio for residents who are twenty-one years of age or older. However, residents who are eighteen may still be able to illegally place bets on offshore websites or through online loopholes, causing concern among doctors and experts regarding adolescent gambling.

It has been reported that over two million sports betting accounts have been activated in Ohio since January. Despite laws in many states, high school students have quickly become obsessed with this wave of sports betting that is crossing the nation.

“Between 60% to 80% of high schoolers say they've gambled for money in the past year,” according to an ABC news article from December that cited a study by the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors. The article warned that teens are particularly susceptible to developing gambling addictions because their brains are still developing and are not yet able to fully assess risk.

In just the last few years, sport betting has become legal for various age groups in different states across the country. But if sports betting is so addictive and dangerous according to research, then why is it becoming so accessible so quickly?

One possible reason is that sports betting is very beneficial for the economy, and it has opened many revenue streams for state governments, as well as provided thousands of jobs across the country through sports betting companies. And while some states like Ohio are attempting to deter adolescent gambling by setting a higher age limit, regulatory groups may have trouble enforcing the law when it comes to online gambling.

For more information on adolescent gambling, visit the Mayo Clinic’s website: Compulsive gambling - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic .