As sportsbooks across the United States begin pivoting away from credit card loading options, Ohio is preparing to take a proactive step and remove the middleman altogether.
Key Takeaways
- Ohio regulators have proposed removing credit cards as a funding option for sportsbook and iGaming accounts under a new amendment to state gaming rules.
- The move follows similar restrictions already adopted in multiple states.
- Major operators, including DraftKings, FanDuel, and bet365, have already phased out credit card deposit options.
In a proposed amendment to the Ohio Administrative Code, the Ohio Casino Control Commission is proposing the Common Sense Initiative.
The Ohio Casino Control Commission is proposing to ban the use of credit cards to fund online sports betting accounts: pic.twitter.com/wPYUOlzYIE
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) May 6, 2026
“The Commission is proposing to amend Sports Gaming Rule 3775-16-03 to remove credit cards as a funding option for deposit-enabled accounts. Stakeholders are encouraged to review the changes,” the Commission’s official website outlined via a release on Wednesday.
“If, in the end, you choose to submit comments, please do so by submitting them in writing to the Commission at rulecomments@casinocontrol.ohio.gov by 5 p.m. EST on May 15. While you will have some additional chances to comment on these rules, including when they are filed with the state’s Common Sense Initiative Office, please note that it is much easier for the Commission and for stakeholders to work out any questions or comments directly before the rules start the formal rule filing process.”
The change would make Ohio sports betting the latest to take steps to help bolster consumer protections. A multitude of other states have already taken the leap, with Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, and Illinois already placing guardrails. Virginia has also begun the process of removing credit card availability in recent weeks.
Enjoying Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account“We view that limiting credit card funding for wagering accounts is a sensible and worthwhile policy to encourage responsible gambling and mitigate the potential harms of compulsive gambling,” Illinois Gaming Board administrator Marcus Fruchter said last year. “Problem gamblers are at particular risk, and studies have shown a willingness for compulsive gamblers to use credit cards to place bets.”
Prominent voices
At the federal level, other prominent lawmakers, such as Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, have also called for stricter rules on credit card usage.
“Around 80% of the sports gambling market no longer accepts credit card transactions,” she wrote in an open letter last month. “The gambling sites have cited a variety of reasons for their decision, including ‘to improve the deposit experience for our customers,’ ‘in light of evolving industry standards and responsible gaming considerations,’ and ‘to help customers avoid cash advance fees and higher interest rates associated with credit card funding.’”
Among those sites, DraftKings, FanDuel, and bet365 have all phased out or begun to phase out credit card funding options in the last calendar year.
“Over the last few months, FanDuel has been evaluating the payment methods that we offer to customers and made the decision to remove credit cards as an option for our Sportsbook, casino, and racing product in the United States,” a FanDuel spokesperson said at the time. “This change was made to improve the deposit experience for our customers.”
