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Ohio House Finance Committee Hears Testimony on Allowing Online Charitable Raffles
Summary
At a second hearing on House Bill 476, witnesses and lawmakers debated whether online raffles should be allowed under Ohio charitable-gaming law and how to protect consumers through licensing, geolocation and age verification; the Attorney General's office urged statutory changes to bring online raffles under existing regulatory structures.
The Ohio House Finance Committee held a second hearing on House Bill 476, which would authorize online raffles under Ohio's charitable gaming laws, and heard competing views about consumer protections, constitutional limits and oversight.
Ryan Foles of the Center for Christian Virtue told the committee he was "in strong opposition to House Bill 476," arguing online raffles "open a significant new frontier for gambling" and would "bring Internet gambling into Ohio homes and communities disguised under the banner of charity." Foles said the bill, as written, lacks geo‑tracking, age verification and financial‑reporting requirements that would prevent fraud, addiction and abuse.
The hearing included multiple exchanges between witnesses and committee members that focused on the scale of potential harms and practical safeguards. Representative Ritter asked whether online raffles could be a "gateway" to broader gambling problems; Foles replied that while not the only factor, online access increases risk because raffles…
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