Ohio: DraftKings to pay $425K for allowing bets on student-athletes, offering unapproved deposit methods

Sports betting giant DraftKings has been fined by the Ohio Casino Control Commission for allowing wagering on student-athletes and their performance, as well as allowing deposits through methods not approved by the state's regulator.

DraftKings is set to pay $425,000 as a result of a settlement between the operator and the state. According to the OCCC, 77 prohibited wagers were placed between March 14 and March 19 of this year, in violation of the state's regulations, which ban betting on collegiate athletes' performance for their protection.

“First and foremost, the occurrences of, and increase in the harassment of student-athletes based upon their performance or statistics in an intercollegiate athletics competition, presents a clear and present danger to the best interests of Ohio," Ohio Casino Control Commission executive director Matthew Schuler said earlier in the year, explaining the rationale behind the ban on player-specific prop wagers on college athletics. The prohibition was introduced following an NCAA request.

While Ohio passed a law in 2023 that targets those who have already threatened athletes with violence or harm by banning them from participating in sports gaming in Ohio, the ban on wagering on student-athletes and their performance follows another goal.

"The NCAA’s request to prohibit player-specific prop bets has a different aim: to significantly limit the harassment, including threats, from occurring in the first place by curtailing the urge sports wagerers may have to deride, let alone threaten, college athletes for their individual performances," Schuler explained.

As for the deposits through unapproved funds, the state noted that offering unregulated methods of funding removes the Commission’s oversight used to ensure the integrity of sports gaming on behalf of Ohioans. In this instance, DraftKings allowed deposit-enabled accounts to be funded through cash deposits at non-gaming retail locations (corner drug stores), the OCCC explained.