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Ohio Casino Control Commission outlines enforcement actions, illegal-casino seizures and problem-gambling services
Summary
Ohio Casino Control Commission Director Matthew Schueller told the Senate committee the agency enforces licensing and regulatory compliance across casino, skill-based, fantasy and sports gaming; described undercover investigations and seizures of illegal operations; and outlined problem-gambling programs funded in part by gaming taxes.
Matthew Schueller, executive director of the Ohio Casino Control Commission, briefed the Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee on the commission’s regulatory scope, enforcement work against illegal casinos, and problem-gambling services funded by gaming taxes.
Schueller described the commission as a seven-member bipartisan body charged by statute with licensing, regulatory compliance, enforcement and problem-gambling programs across casino gaming, skill-based amusement machines, fantasy contests and sports betting. He noted the commission’s licensing reviews focus on suitability — character, honesty, integrity and financial stability — and that the commission conducts audits and year-round compliance work to ensure operators follow detailed internal-control systems.
In enforcement examples, Schueller showed surveillance footage illustrating common cheating methods and described a variety of criminal investigations his enforcement division has pursued, including employee theft, cheating, money laundering, robbery and forgery. He said illegal-casino operations typically occupy strip-mall locations and attempt to present devices as skill-based amusement machines; enforcement uses undercover investigations, payouts and search warrants to seize or disable devices.
Schueller said the agency has executed search warrants at 165 locations since 2015 and seized or disabled almost 7,500 slot or slot-like machines in those investigations. He said the enforcement fund receives court-ordered revenue from illegal-casino cases and that fund pays equipment, protective gear and other enforcement-related expenses.
On problem-gambling services, Schueller said roughly 2.8% of Ohioans met the threshold for a gambling disorder in a 2022 baseline poll conducted before sports wagering began; the commission partners with the Ohio Lottery Commission, the Racing Commission and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to fund awareness campaigns, a 24/7 telehealth counseling option and workforce development to expand treatment capacity. He described targeted services funded by the sports-gaming tax (2% allocated to problem-gambling programming), an exclusion program for brick-and-mortar facilities and device-blocking subscriptions the state will pay for to prevent access to illegal or legal gambling sites.
On budget items, Schueller said the commission requested modest increases (roughly 5–6%) to cover collective-bargaining pay increases and to hire two licensed investigative staff positions, citing increased workload and attrition. The commission also sought flat funding for the problem-gambling fund and noted ongoing reliance on the enforcement fund for equipment and law-enforcement needs.
Committee members asked about how surveillance and evidence collection happen; Schueller said both casino surveillance staff and commission agents review activity, slot-data systems generate alerts for unusual patterns, and agents can review 30 days of surveillance to build cases before referring to prosecutors.
No committee votes were taken on the commission’s testimony.
