The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) recently met for its inaugural monthly meeting. One of the items discussed was the rising threats made by some gamblers toward athletes as a result of losing a wager. One of the potential deterrents is to permanently ban these gamblers from all retail and online betting sites in Ohio.
OCCC executive director Matt Schuler became upset when seeing a press conference from Dayton Flyers coach Anthony Grant, complaining about how his players received threats from gamblers who blamed the players for their losing wagers.
Shuler informed OCCC members they could put these gamblers on an inclusion list that would ban them from making a legal wager in Ohio.
“And I think that it’s incumbent upon the commission to look into that very power,” Schuler said. “That if social media is able to help us determine who these individuals are that are speaking out hate to kids, then the commission has a responsibility to ensure that… certainly those people cannot engage in legal sports gaming in the state of Ohio. We obviously don’t have control over people’s behavior, but we do have control over what venues they can choose to participate.”
This is just one example of what the OCCC could do, but how they would implement such a ban is yet to be determined.
Athletes being harassed on social media by angry sports gamblers and fantasy sports players is nothing new. Social media allows fans direct access to the players, and the anonymous nature encourages some to take things too far. Shuler went on to say;
“It’s something that I wasn’t planning on talking about today,” Schuler said. “But I saw it and I thought that it was important enough to bring up to make sure that anyone who’s listening understands that this type of behavior is not okay for anybody, in any venue, at all.”
Caesars Fined $150,000
Ohio sports bettors made history during its opening week of legalized wagering, but it didn’t come without its share of problems. The OCCC fined Caesars Ohio 150,000 dollars for violating Ohio gambling laws in offering “risk-free” or “free” bets in their promotional campaigns.
The OCCC also sent notices to DraftKings and BetMGM claiming they, along with Caesars, violated the advertising laws, but the commission only approved the fine to Caesars.
